THE  TREATMENT  OF  CONSCIENTIOUS  OBJECTORS  DURING  THE 

CIVIL  WAR 


BY 

GERTRUDE  ADY 

A.  B.  Monmouth  College,  1921 


THESIS 

SUBMITTED  IN  PARTIAL  FULFILLMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS 
FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF  MASTER  OF  ARTS  IN  HISTORY 
IN  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS, 

1922 


URBANA,  ILLINOIS 


^ ^09  

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL 


. _i_J_une 192- 2 


I HEREBY  RECOMMEND  THAT  THE  THESIS  PREPARED  UNDER  MY 

SUPERVISION  BY  __  

The  Treatment  of  Conscientious  Objectors 

ENTITLED.  _ 


during  the  Civil  War 


BE  ACCEPTED  AS  FULFILLING  THIS  PART  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR 


Recommendation  concurred  in* 


Committee 

on 

Final  Examination* 


■Required  for  doctor’s  degree  but  not  for  master’s 


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TABLE  OP  GOIITENTS 


INTRODUCTION 


The  Psychology  of  the  Conscientious  Objector 
CHAPTER  I 

Northern  Conscript ion--Its  Effect  on  the  Conscientious 
Ob  jector 


CHAPTER  II 


Pages 

1 

5 

19 


Confederate  Conscription — Its  Effect  on  the  Conscientious 


Ob  jector 

CHAPTER  III  24 

Attitude  of  the  Northern  Administration 

CHAPTER  IV  22 

Status  of  the  Southern  Conscientious  Objector 

CHAPTER  V 41 

Individual  Cases  in  the  North 

CHAPTER  VI  49 

Individual  Cases  in  the  South 

CONCLUSION  69 

APPENDIX  7 0 

BIBLIOGRAPHY  71 


A i 


1 


INTRODUCTION 

THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OP  THE  CONSCIENTIOUS  OBJECTOR 

The  conscientious  objector  is  one  of  the  least  under- 
stood among  men.  Because  he  is  not  understood  he  is  not  sym- 
pathized with.  By  those  who  misunderstand  him  and  are  there- 
fore uns3nnpathetic  with  his  principles  he  is  more  often  classed 
as  a "slacker"  or  considered  insincere  in  his  belief.  On  the 
contrary  his  patriotism  is  of  the  purest  stamp.  His  motives 
are  thoroughly  sincere. 

In  the  face  of  war  the  conscientious  objector  finds 
himself  confronted  with  a peculiar  situation.  He  is  torn  be- 
tween two  conflicting  forces — duty  to  country  and  duty  to  re- 
ligion. The  position  of  the  Quakers,  the  largest  group  of 
conscientious  objectors^  is  ssTJronjTnous  with  that  of  other  non- 
combatant  sects.  The  Quaker  testimony  against  war  goes  far 
down  into  the  tradition  of  the  past.  The  Quaker  belief  resolves 
itself  into  this:  that  war  and  Christianity  are  incompatible. 

Either  he  must  refuse  to  fight  or  must  abandon  Christianity. 

If  the  teachings  of  Christ  command  a man  to  love  his  enemies, 
what  right  has  he  to  take  up  arms  against  them,  or,  in  paying 
an  exemption  tax,  to  hire  some  one  else  to  do  so.  To  him 
there  is  no  choice  between  military  service  or  its  equivalent. 

The  Civil  War  put  the  Quakers  to  an  unusua?>.ly  severe 
test.  Bitterly  opposed  as  they  were  to  the  evils  of  slavery, 
many  of  them  found  it  no  little  difficulty  to  resist  the  most 
effective  means  to  destroy  it.  Those  who  had  been  so  actively 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


https://archive.org/detaiis/treatmentofconscOOadyg 


s 


interested  in  the  cause  of  the  slave  for  generations  hack  were 
to  suffer  from  another  conflict  of  ideals,  this  time  between 
Christianity  and  freedom,  the  just  dues  of  a depressed  race. 

Most  of  those  whose  ideals  of  freedom  and  of  religion  struggled 
for  supremacy  were  of  the  younger  group  of  men  and  it  was  upon 
them  that  the  heaviest  burdens  were  to  fall. 

To  the  Quakers  the  domain  of  conscience  is  almost 
sacred.  The  ideals  which  have  become  a part  of  his  conscious- 
ness are  not  to  be  lightly  considered.  The  dictates  of  con- 
science are  not  to  be  thoughtlessly  trespassed  upon.  He  lives 
by  that  "inner  life"  which  is  his  divine  guide.  He  is  gener- 
ous and  charitable  in  his  attitude  toward  others  whose  opinions 
differ  from  his  own.  In  turn  he  might  expect  others  to  exer- 
cise the  same  charity  towards  his  opinions  which  are  dictated 
by  "conscience",  but  force  is  not  Within  his  soul.  If  his 
neighbor  smites  him  on  the  right  cheek,  he  is  ready  and  willing 
to  turn  the  other  also. 

The  great  poet,  Whittier,  who  so  ardently  espoused 
the  cause  of  the  slave  was  himself  a Quaker.  He  therefore 
sensed  very  keenly  their  peculiar  position  under  the  impending 
shadow  of  war.  In  a poem  addressed  to  the  Quaker  alumni  and 
read  at  the  Friends*  School  anniversary  at  Providence,  Rhode 
Island  in  the  sixth  month,  1860,  he  stated  their  case  very  plain- 
ly. He  told  them  that  they  could  not  take  the  battle-brand,  but 
just  because  they  believed  it  was  wrong  to  fight,  they  were  not 
to  think  that  they  should  be  spared  their  share  of  sorrow.  They 
would  not  only  be  compelled  to  suffer  for  the  sake  of  their 


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country  but  for  their  principles  as  well. 

So  we  see  the  conscientious  objectors  as  a perplexing 
problem  not  only  to  themselves  cut  to  those  who  have  to  deal 
with  them.  What  to  do  with  them  w, as  the  very  d if f icult  question. 
Their  patriotism  was  of  the  truest  and  their  principles  were 
sincere.  ITo  doubt  their  type  was  to  be  respected.  In  what 
manner  was  this  consideration  to  be  accomplished?  The  Civil 
War  was  to  be  the  testing  time.  The  conscientious  objectors 
were  to  suffer  much  for  the  sake  of  their  faith,  but  they  w ere 
to  count  their  loss  as  gain  and  by  their  patient  enduring  to 
reap  some  fruits  as  their  reward. 

On  the  other  hand  the  law-makers  of  the  nation  felt 
their  dilemma  also.  Although  they  realized  the  necessity  of  re- 
specting so  sincere  a group  within  the  nation,  yet  they  knew 
well  also  that  their  leniency  should  not  be  so  elastic  as  to 
permit  any  chance  of  loopholes  for  less  sincere  persons  to  reap 
the  advantages  of  their  generosity. 

As  the  war  went  on  not  a few  of  the  i’riends  came  to 
believe  with  Whittier  and  Garrison  that  it  would  be  better  to 
stand  by  "the  sad  spectators  of  a suicide"  than  to  engage  in 
war.  As  much  as  they  loved  the  old  Union  they  felt  that  they 
could  not  sacrifice  their  loyalty  to  their  Master  and  their 
conception  of  His  principles  of  Peace  even  to  save  Her  if  to 
do  so  meant  the  taking  of  a brother's  blood.  Instead  they  chose 
to  take  the  hard  path  and  tried  to  believe  with  the  poet  Whittier 
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5 


CHAPTER  I 

NORTHERN  CONSCRIPTION: 

ITS  SEPSCT  ON  THE  CONSCIENTIOUS  OBJECTORS 

The  Civil  War  vsas  to  discover  the  conscientious  objec- 
tor in  America.  In  previous  wars  he  had  not  been  appreciated  be- 
cause he  had  not  been  realized.  Under  the  old  system  of  volun- 
teering in  previous  wars  he  had  remained  practically  unmolested. 
The  conscientious  objectors  of  the  north  first  came 
into  contact  with  national  military  legislation  in  the  summer 
of  1862  when  the  Militia  Act  of  July  17,  1862  was  passed.  Here 
no  mention  was  made  of  conscientious  objectors  or  those  per- 
sons with  religious  scruples  against  the  bearing  of  arms,^ 

August  4,  1862  President  Lincoln  by  executive  order  called  for  a 
draft  of  three  hundred  thousand  militia  to  enter  the  service  of 
the  United  States  for  nine  months,^  The  draft  was  completed  early 

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in  September,*^  In  Indiana  where  a large  number  of  Quakers  were 
settled  in  the  southeastern  counties,  the  constitution  of  1816 
had  provided  that  no  person  conscientiously  opposed  to  bearing 
arms  should  be  compelled  to  do  militia  duty,  but  that  such  per- 
sons should  pay  an  equivalent  for  exemption^  This  clause  had 
been  due  to  the  influence  of  the  early  'Quaker  settlers  in  the 
state.  After  the  passage  of  the  Militia  Act  of  1862  representa- 
tives of  the  Friends  came  to  Indianapolis  to  lay  their  claims  be- 
fore Governor  Morton  who,  though  he  was  anxious  to  fill  the 

1.  U.  _S,  Sta tutes  at  Large.  37th  Cong.  2 Sess.,  597-600. 

2,  Moore,  Record  of  the  Rebellion,  V,  570;  also  in  Richardson, 
Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents,  VI,  120-121. 

3.  McDonald,  oelect  statutes  of  U.  3.  Hist. , 68. 

4,  Foulke,  Life  of  Oliver  P,  Morton,  I,  199, 


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regiments,  was  not  unfriendly  to  a society  vihose  members  were 
strong  supporters  of  the  administration  in  every  other  way  hut 

5 

performance  of  military  duty.  It  was  finally  provided  that 
members  of  any  religious  denomination  which  made  opposition  to 
bearing  arms  an  article  of  their  faith  should  presumably  be  en- 
titled to  exemption  upon  pa^pment  of  such  a sum  a s was  to  be 
thereafter  fixed.  The  decision  called  forth  no  small  amount  of 
criticism.  Many  people  feared  that  if  such  generosity  was  ex- 
tended tenderness  of  conscience  would  develop  where  it  had  never 
been  felt  before.  The  War  department  fixed  the  equivalent  for 
exemption  at  two  hundred  dollars.  Under  this  provision  some 
three  thousand  persons  established  their  c la  i iris  and  many  of 
them  actually  paid  the  commutation.  However,  as  the  state  legis- 
lature had  not  fixed  the  amount  and  also  because  it  was  finally 
decided  that  the  War  department  had  no  power  t o do  so,  the  money 
was  afterwards  returned. 

//hen  drafting  by  states  had  not  proved  satisfactory, 
some  measure  of  compulsion  was  clearly  necessary.  Federal  con- 
scription was  first  resorted  to  in  the  spring  of  1863  with  the 
passage  of  the  Enrolment  Act  of  March  3,  1863.  This  bill  which 
provided  for  the  enrolling  and  calling  forth  of  the  natioiri  forces 
was  reported  in  the  Senate  on  February  9,  1863  by  Wilson  of  Ivlassa- 

chusetts  from  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs  and  the  Militia 

7 

to  whom  the  subject  was  referred.  The  Senate  passed  the  bill 

6.  Foulhe,  Life  of  Oliver  ?,  Morton.  199. 

6.  Ibid.,  199. 

7.  Cong.  Cl obe,  37th  Cong.  3 Sess.  Pt,  I,  p.  816;  also 
McDonald,  Select  Statutes  of  U,  _3,  Hist. , 68. 


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on  February  16th  by  a unanimous  vote  but  it  received  bitter 

opposition  in  the  House.  The  Act  as  passed  again  made  no 

mention  of  conscientious  objectors  or  those  opposed  to  bearing 

arms  by  the  tenets  of  their  religion.  It  did  provide,  however, 

for  exemption  by  the  furnishing  of  a substitute  or  the  pajmient 

8 

of  a three  hundred  dollar  commutation  tax.  V^hile  the  Act  was 

under  consideration  in  the  House  an  attempt  was  made  to  strike 

out  the  three  hundred  dollar  commutation  clause  but  it  failed, 

the  vote  being  sixty-seven  to  eighty-seven.  The  bill  passed 

9 

the  house  on  February  25th  and  was  approved  March  3,  1863. 

Under  the  existing  law  then  all  able-bodied  male  citizens  of 
the  United  States  between  the  ages  of  twenty  and  forty-five 
years  were  to  constitute  the  national  forces  and  be  liable  to 
perform  military  duty  in  the  service  of  the  United  States  when- 
ever called  out  by  the  President  for  that  purpose. 

The  Quakers  rightly  believed  that  the  three  hundred 
dollar  exemption  tax  was  intended  to  supply  a substitute.  All 

the  official  bodies  of  the  Society  considered  it  as  an  impossi- 

11 

ble  solution  of  the  difficulty.  The  minutes  of  Advice  of  the 
Meeting  for  Sufferings  of  Western  Yearly  Meeting  expressed  the 
feeling  that  the  payment  of  the  price  of  exemption  or  the  pro- 
viding of  substitutes  ”for  services  required  of  us”  were  equiv- 
alent to  service  itself.  They  also  added  the  worthy  bit  of  ad- 
vice to  a Friend  who  was  drafted  that  he  should  in  due  time 

Annual  Cyclopedia^  1863,  361-3;  also  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large. 
37th  Gong.  3 Sess.,  733. 

9.  McDonald,  Select  Statutes  of  U.  S.  Hist.,  68;  also  article 
in  Illinois  Daily  State  Journal  (Springfield)  of  March  5,  1863. 

10.  U.  3,  Statutes  at  Large.  37th  Gong.,  3 Sess,  731. 

11.  Jones,  Later  Periods  of  ^-uakerism  II,  729. 


Hi 


•♦A''- 


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rs^n 


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^Jrrfi-Jb.  'J 


■f  : '%3Si^V '-4?ii'i  ' 'v;  'mX'V,' 


P'"', 


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y .'•  *•  '.'v ' ^ ^ . .'  •••^-  • .« «‘.  .ij'  rcSSTOar 

,.:  ■ > :-:  ' ' ..  >'  ..■  ■•, '^r  •r^-  ■ ' '-A 


V fA  fc^',  *' 


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> ^ Wii-J  ?, Ay?  i r V -'  '■ 

' '■  • t..'  '*  • '.  rt./,  A ' A.  ■►  \ 

T ,p 

.'  - ' " ;.  , . ■'  ■ < T '■  ' ' 'i  * • '1  * ' ■'<’  *'  (•  "if ' * '■  <>  ' '’W';  ^ V ■ .,»^  >■ 


Js.  a 


, - -,  ' V •■'  ’^'2  - ' ■ ■ ■ ' A-  " i’ 

Hv'  •'"•  v'.  ',  :'.v,  ■ • 

!<■ , . ”!  ; ■'ift-.ts. «.  ■ af'4-t.’  (1  It '■■  £‘cH^- 


8 


appear  before  the  Provost  Marshal  or  Board  of  Enrolment,  with 
the  notice  of  the  draft  served  on  him  and  then  state  his  con- 
scientious scruples  against  all  wars  and  respectfully  ask  ex- 
emption on  this  ground,  calmly  submitting  the  issue.  However, 
many  individual  Eriends  did  not  feel  the  same  scruple  about 
paying  commutation  money  and  a considerable  number  of  i’riends 
took  that  course.  Those  who  did  so  were  generally  disowned  by 
their  meetings  for  unfaithfulness  to  Friends'  principles  of 
peace  the  same  as  those  who  actually  volunteered  for  military 
service.  If  they  expressed  their  regret  for  their  actions  and 

wished  to  be  reinstated  the  meetings  usually  were  lenient  to 

12 

them  and  took  them  back. 

In  Pennsylvania  the  committee  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives to  which  the  subject  was  referred  reported  a bill 
fixing  the  sum  to  be  paid  by  those  who  were  exempted  from  the 
draft  on  the  ground  of  conscientious  scruples  at  three  hundred 
dollars, the  money  to  be  paid  into  the  treasury  of  the  county 
in  which  the  persons  resided.  The  legislature  was  not  able 
to  avoid  imposing  the  tax  as  the  constitution  of  the  State  re- 
quired  it  although  a large  number  of  Friends  and  other  peace 
sects  lived  within  the  state. 

At  an  extra  session  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Iowa 
in  1862  the  Mennonites,  Amana  Inspirationists  and  German  Baptists 
had  petitioned  for  relief  from  military  service.  In  September 
of  that  year  Governor  Kirkwood  in  a message  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly on  September  3,  1862  had  very  strongly  recommended  that 

12.  Jones,  Later  Periods  of  ^luakerism,  TT^  730, 

13.  Article  in  Nationa 1 Intelligencer , Washington,  D.  C, , of  April 
28,  1863. 


f^J-. 


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9 


"these  who  cannot  conscientiously  render  military  duty,  iDe  exemp- 
ted therefrom  in  case  of  draft,  upon  the  pasnnent  of  a fixed  sum  of 
money  to  be  paid  to  the  State."  About  the  same  time  petitions 
to  the  General  Assembly  for  relief  from  the  military  draft  were 
received  from  Friends  in  Dallas,  Madison,  Guthrie,  Adair,  Musca- 
tine, Jefferson,  Warren,  Clarke,  Jasper,  Ifehaska,  Poweshiek, 
and  Keokuk  counties,  but  the  bill  anticipating  such  relief  was 
killed  in  the  House  after  a rather  stonny  session, Again  in 
1863  when  the  draft  was  issued,  the  Quakers  and  the  other  peace 
sects  of  the  state  appealed  to  the  Governor  and  the  General  As- 
sembly for  relief.  Their  reply  was  the  much  despised  exemption 
tax  of  three  hundred  dollars  or  the  furnishing  of  a substitute 
in  case  of  any  of  their  number  being  drafted. 

Late  in  the  year  1863,  the  status  of  the  conscienti- 
ous objector  was  a gain  imperiled  by  a movement  toward  abolishing 
the  three  hundred  dollar  exemption  clause,  a refuge  that  not  a 
few  of  the  Friends  especially  had  taken  advantage  of.  ’With  the 
greatly  increasing  demands  for  men  as  the  war  went  on,  it  was 
natural  that  the  causes  for  exemption  should  be  made  more  strin- 
gent. November  7,  1863  Colonel  James  B.  Fry,  the  Provost-Marshal- 
General,  in  a report  to  the  Secretary  of  War  recommended  that 
the  three  hundred  dollar  clause  as  it  was  known  should  be  abolished 
or  limited  to  the  cases  of  those  whose  religious  creed,  like  that 
of  the  Quakers,  would  not  permit  them  to  bear  arms,  but  who  cer- 
tainly, he  thought,  could  not  be  conscientiously  opposed  to  con- 

14.  Jones,  Quakers  of  Iowa.  333-4. 

15.  Ibid.,  2^6-7. 


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yiillM  ^ ''  iV  ■ X 


10 

contributing  in  that  way  to  the  support  of  the  government  which 
16 

protected  them.  On  December  14,  1863  Mr.  Holman  introduced  - 
a bill  into  the  House  proposing  to  repeal  the  thirteenth  section 
of  the  Act  of  March  3,  1863  authorizing  exemption  from  military 

service  by  payment  of  three  hundred  dollars.  It  was  read  a first 

17 

and  second  time  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs. 

A similar  bill  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Arnold  on  the  same  day  and 

was  also  referred  to  the  committee* 

Such  a motion  resulted  in  a storm  of  petitions  from 

the  various  peace  denominations.  The  first  petition  was  sent 

18 

in  from  the  Amana  Society  of  Iowa  on  December  23,  1863.  The 

Quakers  of  Baltimore  and  Hew  York  petitioned  January  6,  1864 

19 

and  also  objected  to  the  payment  of  money.  Congress  was  not 

only  besieged  by  petitions  but  on  several  occasions  they  were 

visited  by  delegations  from  different  groups  who  sought  relief 

for  their  conscientious  scruples.  On  January  9,  representatives 

of  the  Friends  from  Maine,  Massachusetts,  Hew  York,  Hew  Jersey, 

and  Pennsylvania  went  before  the  House  Military  Committee  to  get 

their  sect  exempted  not  only  from  military  service,  but  from  pay- 

20 

ing  the  exemption  tax  also.  Two  days  later  Mr.  Dixon,  Mr.  Ram- 
sey, and  Mr.  Cowan  each  presented  memorials  to  the  Senate  from 
the  Society  of  Friends  of  the  State  of  Hew  York,  praying  for 
exemption  from  military  duty,  all  of  which  were  referred  to  the 

16.  Report  of  Sec*y  of  «Var  and  P.  M.  Gen*l,  1st  sess.,  38th  Cong. , 

113. 

17.  Cong.  Globe.  38th  Cong.,  1st  sess,.  Pt.  I,  20. 

18.  Tbid..  ^ 

19.  Smith,  Mennonites  of  America.  118. 

20.  Hew  York  Times.  Jan.  9,  1864. 


wvt .2 


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11 

21 

Committee  on  Military  Affairs  and  Militia.  Senator  Sherman  of 

Ohio  presented  a memorial  January  15  from  the  Society  of  Friends 

in  Ohio  asking  for  exemption  from  military  service  and  from  all 

22 

penalties  for  non-performance  of  it.  On  the  18th  lAr.  V/ade  also 
of  Ohio  presented  to  the  Senate  two  petitions  from  the  Society 
of  Friends,  one  in  Ohio  and  the  other  from  a like  society  in  south- 
ern Indiana  and  eastern  Illinois.  Both  were  moved  to  tie  laid 
on  the  table  as  the  subject  of  exempting  those  whose  conscienti- 
ous scruples  forbade  them  to  bear  arms  was  then  under  consider- 
ation.^^ On  January  19  Mr.  Reverdy  Johnson  of  Maryland  put  be- 
fore the  Senate  a similar  memorial  from  the  Society  of  Friends 

pA 

of  New  York  but  it  too  was  ordered  to  be  laid  on  the  table. 

January  22,  1864  the  Society  of  Friends  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, New  Jersey,  Delaware,  and  a djacent  parts  of  Maryland,  sent 
a memorial  to  the  President  and  the  two  houses  of  Congress  in 
which  they  stated;  "We  respect,  honor,  and  love  this  Government, 
which  we  believe  Divine  Wisdom  has  placed  over  us,  and  because 
of  this,  we  desire  that  it  may,  in  no  particular,  be  found  striv- 
ing against  God,  or  persecuting  His  children,  however  humble  in 

25 

position  or  numbers  they  may  be."  They  realized  their  liabil- 
ity under  the  present  draft  law  and  asserted  their  position  as 
a people  who  were  unable  to  comply  with  such  a law  without  diso- 
beying the  command  of  God  to  them.  Neither  could  they  furnish 

21.  Gong.  Globe.  38  Cong.,  1 3ess.,  Pt.  I,  144. 

22.  Ttrr^T^TT: — 

23.  Ibid»,252. 

24.  ThTd'. , 262. 

25.  Mode,  Source  Book  and  Bibliographical  Guide  to  Amer.  Church 
Hist. , 617-618;  also  McPherson,  Poli t.  Hist,  of  U*  3.  of  Amer. 
dur ing  the  Great  Rebellion.  503-504. 


-W 


■m  Is^F 

nft.  u«i  W^t•■  «.’♦  'fl;  if  .f  «►*  «n '',  . 


I i *»-^t  1 1'  OvtV ?-■>' '. it f ' • »?<?}^ 4-4.  ;^' fcJKW ’ fi  I * ; "Hr  6 jT^,  V > .'P^' 

I XX- i u*i-'''t*icdfiii^-  V i •■  f S'  * j_, 

L'r..  r::-  m :r-''5  ' *2-1  2..  ,111 


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12 


a substitute  or  pay  any  equivalent  or  fine  imposed  for  exemption 
from  military  service,  because  in  so  doing  they  felt  that  they 
would  implicate  themselves  in  a violation  of  their  conscientious 
scruples.  They  asked  for  a modification  of  the  law  not  alone 
with  a view  to  shield  themselves  from  suffering  but  under  a 
sense  of  duty  to  God.  The  memorial  was  laid  before  the  Senate 
on  February  8 by  Mr.  Wilson  of  Massachusetts.  It  met  the  fate 
of  many  of  its  predecessors  and  was  ordered  to  be  laid  upon  the 
table. 

Largely  as  a result  of  the  numerous  petitions  and 

delegations  before  Congress,  the  conscientious  objectors  were 

able  to  secure  more  definite  recognition  from  the  government. 

Then,  too,  the  strain  of  the  war  was  demanding  a change  in  the 

draft  law  to  meet  the  need  for  men.  On  December  14  Mr.  Lane  of 

Indiana  had  introduced  a bill  into  the  Senate  to  amend  the  act 

for  enrolling  and  calling  out  the  national  forces  and  for  other 

purposes  which  was  read  twice  by  its  title  and  referred  to  the 

27 

Committee  on  Military  Affairs  and  the  Militia.  Section  seven- 
teen of  the  proposed  bill  was  designed  for  the  relief  of  those 
whose  religious  scruples  were  against  engaging  in  war.  During 
the  months  of  January  and  February  the  question  of  exempting 
members  of  the  various  peace  sects  was  widely  discussed  in  Cong- 
ress. 

The  Senate  debates  are  especially  interesting.  On 

January  14,  1864  Mr.  Wilson  moved  that  "members  of  religious 

26.  Cong.  Globe,  38  Cong.,  1 Sess.  Pt,  I,  520. 

27.  Tbll.,  I,  17. 


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13 


denominations  conscientiously  opposed  to  the  hearing  of  arms 
may  when  drafted  into  military  service  he  considered  non- 
comhatants  and  shall  he  assigned  hy  the  Secretary  of  V/ar  to  du- 
ty in  the  hospitals  or  to  the  care  of  freedmen  or  shall  pay  the 
sum  of  three  hundred  dollars  to  such  person  as  the  Secretary  of 
War  shall  designate  to  receive  it,  to  he  applied  to  the  benefit 
of  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  and  such  drafted  persons  shall 
then  he  exempt  from  the  draft  for  the  time  for  which  they  shall 

p Q 

have  been  drafted.”  Senator  Harlan  thought  this  was  not  spe- 
cific enough  so  he  added  "and  who  are  prohibited  from  doing  so 
hy  the  rules  and  articles  of  faith  and  practice  of  said  relig- 
ious denominations.”  Mr.  Doolittle  then  move'd  to  amend  it  by 
exempting  those  of  good  standing.  Senator  Anthony  favored  the 
amendment  hut  he  thought  that  persons  claiming  exemption  on 
grounds  of  religious  convictions  should  make  it  appear  before 
some  tribunal,  or  officer  that  their  walk  and  conversation  had 
been  in  accordance  with  their  religious  profession.  He  thought 
that  the  Friends  ought  to  be  exempted  from  military  duty,  hut 
he  agreed  that  there  were  many  young  persons  who  were  members 
of  the  Society  of  Friends  who  had  no  objection  at  all  to  hearing 
arms  and  that  a great  many  of  them  had  gone  into  the  military 
service.  I’Sjc*  Anthony  was  one  of  the  warmest  friends  the  con- 
scientious objectors  ha^  in  "the  Senate.  He  considered  it  one  of 
the  most  serious  defects  of  the  Enrolment  Act  of  the  previous 

year  that  it  had  invaded  the  rights  of  conscience.  In  a forceful 

28.  Gong.  Globe,  38  Cong. , 1 Sess.  , fFI  T,  204. 

29.  Tbidt,  204. 


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14 


speech  before  the  Seriate  he  said:  "fhere  has  not  been  a single 

man  added  to  the  Army  who  was  worth  the  rations  that  he  ate  by 
the  refusal  to  exempt  persons  cons i cent iously  scrupulous  as  to 
bearing  arms.  I might  tell  you,  Mr .. President,  the  most  piteous 
stories  of  the  sufferings  and  persecutions  of  this  class  of  people 
I might  tell  you  of  many  instances  of  moral  heroism  in  men  of  the 
humblest  pretensions,  who  believed  and  I believe  that  they  were 
sustained  by  no  arm  of  flesh  in  the  sufferings  which  they  endured 
for  the  sake  of  conscience.  3ut  I cannot  show  you  and  you  can- 
not show  me  one  single  efficient  man  that  has  been  added  to  the 
Army  by  the  impressment  of  men  conscientiously  scrupulous  against 
bearing  arras.” 

Mr.  Ten  Syck  who  the  year  before  had  voted  against 
giving  the  peace  denominations  any  relief  had  changed  his  atti- 
tude and  now  joined  the  front  ranks  of  those  who  were  most 
anxious  to  respect  the  religious  ideals  of  a worthy  and  upright 
class  of  citizenship.  He  declared  that  if  the  object  of  the 
amendment  to  the  enrolment  bill  was  to  be  secured  that  it  must 
go  further  than  mere  exemption  from  military  duty.  He  recog- 
nized the  objections  of  Friends  to  paying  any  commutation  money 
as  a part  of  their  scruples  so  he  considered  that  if  they  were 

to  be  relieved  at  all  because  of  their  conscientious  scrunles 

31 

that  the77  should  be  relieved  of  paying  any  exemption  tax. 

Along  with  Senators  Anthony  and  Ten  Hyck,  Mr.  V/ilson 

30.  Gong.  Globe.  38  Gong.,  1 Sess.,  Pt^  205. 

31.  Ibid.,  205. 


15 

had  proved  himself  a loyal  friend  to  the  conscientious  objectors. 
The  Quakers  had  been  represented  before  Congress  by  petitions  and 
delegations.  A delegation  had  even  appeared  before  the  Military 
Committee  who  had  heard  their  views.  He  expressed  the  belief  that 
the  Quakers  had  contributed  as  much  of  money  and  almost  of  men 
to  the  war  as  any  other  portion  of  the  community.  In  the  latter 
statement  Senator  Anthony  expressed  the  same  opinion.  Members 
of  these  5'riends  committees  had  told  them  that  they  knew  families 
where  nearly  all  the  young  men  had  entered  the  service.  The 
Friends  admitted  that  they  still  felt  kindly  toward  such  erring 
members  and  dealt  rather  gently  with  them.  However,  Senator 
Wilson  recognized  that  the  denomination  as  a class  was  consci- 
entiously opposed  to  bearing  arms  and  for  that  reason  he  had  a 
strong  objection  to  forcing  a group  of  men  whose  lives  showed 

that  they  were  conscientiously  opposed  to  bearing  arms  to  do 

33 

so. 

The  Senator  from  Rhode  Island  estimated  that  under 
a draft  for  three  hundred  thousand  men  about  one  thousand  mem- 
bers of  the  Society  of  Friends  would  be  drafted.  As  one  half 
of  the  quota  was  already  filled,  the  number  affected  would  be 
reduced  to  about  five  hundred  and  if  still  other  states  would 
fill  up  their  quotas  without  drafting,  the  number  would  be  pro- 
portionately decreased.  In  several  of  the  states  where  the 
largest  number  of  Quakers  were  found,  the  quotas  had  already 
been  filled  or  soon  would  be  filled  without  a resort  to  drafting. 

32.  Cong.  Globe.  38  Cong. , 1 Sess.,  PtI  T,  205. 

33.  Tbldl.,  205-6. 


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16 

Such  was  the  case  in  Indiana,  Ohio,  and  several  of  the  New  Eng- 
34 

land  states. 

Senator  Lane  of  Kansas  was  no  less  a Eriend  of  tine 

Quakers  than  some  of  those  already  discussed.  He  expressed  it 

as  "perfectly  ridiculous  to  attempt  to  force  a Quaker  into  the 

ranks  of  the  Army.  It  cannot  "be  done,  or  if  you  should  succeed 

in  doing  it,  he  would  be  worthless  as  a soldier.  Besides,  the 

attempt  to  collect  money  from  the  Quakers  in  lieu  of  military 

service  will  cost  the  Government  ten  dollars  where  they  obtain 

one  if  they  get  it  at  all.  It  is  a losing  business  to  attempt 

35 

to  collect  money  from  Quakers  in  lieu  of  military  service," 

He  thought  that  if  only  the  proposition  of  ijenator  Harlan  of  Iowa 
should  be  adopted,  giving  them  the  privilege  of  serving  in  hos- 
pitals and  permitting  them  to  pay  their  money  in  lieu  of  hospital 
service,  that  they  would  cheerfully  pay  that  money  because  in 
doing  so  their  conscientious  scruples  would  not  be  violated^ 

Perhaps  the  most  bitter  opponent  of  exemption  in  the 
debate  in  the  Senate  was  Gonness  of  California.  In  a strong 
speech  before  the  Senate  he  declared  that  it  was  a Quaker's  War, 
Eor  two  hundred  years  they  had  been  teaching  that  slavery  was  the 
greatest  evil  that  ever  cursed  the  earth  and  had  borne  their  uni- 
versal testimony  against  it  everywhere.  They  had  helped  to  foster 
the  sentiment  that  aggressive  slavery  as  an  institution  was  bar- 
barous in  its  character  and  against  the  civilisiation  of  the  world. 

They  had  been  factors  in  making  up  that  opinion  and  aggression 

34.  long.  Slobe^  38  Cong.,  1 Sess.,  I, 

35,  Ibid^  206. 


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17 


had  taken  place  under  their  fostering  care  and  direction. 

In  the  House  the  conscientious  objectors  had  a staunch 
supporter  in  the  person  of  Thaddeus  Stevens,  the  representative 
from  Lancaster.  That  locality  was  largely  settled  by  the  Menno- 
nites.  As  considerable  numbers  of  the  Mennonites  were  Republi- 
cans he  could  not  afford  to  lose  their  support  in  his  constituency 
Mr.  Stevens  had  practiced  law  at  Lancaster  so  in  the  performance 
of  his  legal  duties  among  them  he  had  come  to  know  and  understand 
the  people  of  that  county  and  their  peace  principles.  When 
the  matter  of  exemption  was  before  the  house,  he  did  not  take  such 
an  active  part  in  the  discussion  on  the  floor,  but  his  greatest 
influence  in  their  behalf  came  in  the  committee  room. 

The  bill  was  finally  passed  with  amendments  by  the 
Senate  on  January  18,  the  vote  being  thirty  to  ten.  With  further 
amendments,  the  House  passed  the  bill  on  February  12  by  a vote 
of  ninety-four  to  sixty-five.  The  Senate  refused  to  accept  the 

amendments  of  the  House  so  the  bill  came  to  its  final  form  in 

38 

a conference  committee.  The  Supplementary  Enrolment  Act  as 
it  was  called  was  approved  February  24,  1864.  It  was  section  17 
of  this  Act  which  provided  that  members  of  religious  denominations 
conscientiously  opposed  to  the  bearing  of  arms  and  prohibited 
from  doing  so  by  the  rules  of  their  denominations  were  to  be  con- 
sidered non-combatants  and  assigned  by  the  Secretary  of  ’War  to 
duty  in  the  hospitals  or  to  the  care  of  freedmen,  or  should  pay 

the  sum  of  three  hundred  dollars  to  the  Government  to  be  applied 

36.  Cong.  Globed  38  Gong. , 1 Sess,  Pt.  I,  205. 

37.  6mi th, l^ennoni tes  of  America.  117. 

38.  McDonald,  Select  Statutes  of  U.  S.  Hist. . 88. 


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V ' ^‘r  . ■ ' ’ V ’ A -"‘.‘A'-  ,'v_ : '* 


/ ■■■^  *',  * *4  f ■'  ■ . '_  I ■ . /■’  II  J-  'S  . ‘ . ./  '*“r  ■“'' 

<i.  ^v•7^. -.rwib  ••$!!* ivuia;’  ‘OW--  *. A?- 

* . v‘»  -.  'A  I-  •'  ' ^'  I -V’  ' ' ' ' *^  * -* -. 


-.:  g'  y.,a' 


- l5C  0 1 C>  T 


^ ’ W-  ''W.  M ./♦(”  ijifi 

^ ‘ ‘ ' .&(  ‘V-  ’ * I I 


f . 


-.'♦"  'f “ "TT^  ■ .<*-J3Si!/  ijr^,  .ijaaiBity wr  • 


.1 


18 


to  the  uenefit  of  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers.  The  proviso 

was  also  made  that  no  person  should  he  exempted  in  this  way 

whose  deportment  was  not  cons istent  with  his  declaration  of 

39 

conscientious  scruples  against  hearing  arms. 


39,  McDonald,  Select  Statutes  of  U,  3,  Hist,,  92;  also  U,  3, 
3ta tutes  at  Large,  38  Cong.,  1 Sess.,  10. 


19 


CHAPTER  II 

CONFEDERATE  CONSCRIPTION: 

ITS  EFFECT  ON  THE  CONSCIENTIOUS  OBJECTORS 


In  the  South  the  largest  number  of  objectors  lived 
in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  so  that  they  were  a power  to  be 
reckoned  with  in  their  respective  states  before  any  Confederate 
legislation  was  enacted  dealing  with  them*  The  code  of  laws 
in  force  in  1860  in  ViTginia  where  the  Mennonites  were  especially 
numerous  made  no  mention  of  that  sect  or  any  others  opposed  to 
participating  in  war.  There  was,  however,  an  old  provision  for 
a fine  of  seventy-five  cents  on  all  privates  who  failed  to  at- 
tend militia  musters  or  other  meetings  required  by  law.  This 
fine  the  Mennonites  usually  paid,^  A Militia  Act  was  passed  by 

p 

the  state  legislature  March  29,  1862  which  specifically  exempted 
those  who  were  prevented  from  bearing  arms  by  the  tenets  of  the 
church  to  which  they  belonged  by  the  payment  of  five  hundred 
dollars  to  the  sheriff  of  the  coimty  and  the  further  sum  of  two 
per  cent  of  the  assessed  value  of  all  their  taxable  property. 

They  were  also  required  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 

f 

Confederate  Government.  If  they  refused  to  pay  the  fine,  they 
were  then  to  be  employed  as  teamsters  or  in  such  other  way  as 
the  service  might  require  which  did  not  demand  the  actual  bear- 
ing of  arms.  To  coipplete  matters,  those  who  expected  to  receive 

exemption  were  required  to  surrender  all  the  arms  which  they 

3 

might  own  for  public  use. 

rii  Smith,  ^ 


2.  Ibid.,ir5. 

3.  TUTd.,  115. 


of  America,  114. 


f'l 


pe 

v’sr' 

if: 


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lrt..;.,i^*  -. .'  f . j 5.v--.f.V 'M- ^ r- i^}  ■ ^ - 

If  •: ! ; ...X  ' y • , ^ ^ s . .-i if  ■•'  '^'fiLp'  ' 


lid 


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ftfx  ’»*!>%>  t.<  ;■  ,'J.-  Wi;.1-.^%3  cj».«'.< 

14,,  :a,-;i,5^ ~ 


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. '</:.V,  ' ',  . •;  • '^i'-  /Wt  I 

H*  (4  ’ ^V%?  t,  ■ ;«V'  »'<  i*.  rt  # *v  n,^  i^Kf  • . 6 rt  J^tf  Rid  -■  )•  a M..t->  |•y^i5>l,'  .%4*.  , >.£  . V.' *jf » 


W )-4i),v  nid^tra^  f^-:v;'4^’'?vte*';‘f  - .-i^^  41 « ’v': 


y.  '■ 


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■™  '-;'^  ‘-  «»*■;, ■?'.  'n  - ’ “'i  ■';,(st.,  jf^?’' 

* -i.  ...  .;<»  -.] 


>*  > -tsu  V'V';  ^ ’ 

“ Aj'ftfi  Ku(>itiiy  C)t4  'I*'??/ 

'.’^'•*^‘4  ,.Vt 


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li;  f. 


%(V  f?  W/.i  ••<  ;m.  « >X;P^  t 


K 


m-  • 


"'fj;;:' 


."'f’;(  _,  i^.f  . •“  - or .“  3r  'a 

, , ‘ fcil  ■»-«A«i>»  ■■»*■ ..  ■ 1-’ «.  — ' 

I<a“V  ( •'  vV  '♦^r  ! 

0iut..miv'-m’^'^"  ,V  •'';•“,■  '>V-. 


.1- 


20 


The  largest  numlDer  of  southern  Friends  lived  in 

JNorth  Carolina.  In  fact  they  were  the  only  non-combatant  sect 

residing  within  the  stats'^  during  the  war  period.  In  December 

1861  "an  ordinance  concerning  test  oaths  and  sedition"  had  been 

introduced  into  the  legislature  by  which  every  free  male  citizen 

of  the  state  was  required  to  appear  publicly  and  renounce  all 

allegiance  to  the  government  of  the  United  States,  and  agree  to 

support,  maintain,  and  defend  the  government  of  the  Confederate 

States.  Due  to  the  influence  of  Friends,  the  position  of  the 

Society  was  put  before  the  legislature  and  the  ordinance  never 
5 

became  law.  Through  the  efforts  of  Jonathan  Worth,  Governor 
Vance  in  1862  consented  to  the  exemption  of  Quakers  who  would 
either  labor  in  the  salt  works  or  would  send  a man  who  would 
or  who  would  send  eleven  dollars  per  month  to  be  used  in  making 
salt.  In  a letter  to  Ivir,  Allen  Mx,  Tomlinson,  a Quaker  of  Ashe- 
boro,  Mr.  Worth  expresses  his  regret  that  the  Society  had  re- 
fused the  offer  and  said  that  he  understood  that  the  Quakers 

g 

who  would  not  comply  were  to  be  sent  to  the  hospitals  as  nurses. 

In  April  1862  the  Friends  of  North  Carolina  petitioned 
both  the  State  Assembly  and  the  Confederate  Congress  for  relief. 
The  state  government  was  the  first  to  act  and  passed  an  a ct  of 
exemption  releasing  them  from  state  military  duty  upon  the  pay- 
ment  of  one  hundred  dollars  each'  but  this  was  soon  overshadowed 

by  a more  stringent  law  from  the  government  at  Richmond.  Because 

4.  Statement  of  Mr.  D,  H.  Hill,  Sec'y  of  North  Carolina  Historical 
Commission  in  letter  to  writer. 

5.  Jones,  Later  Periods  of  Quakerism,  II,  742. 

6.  Correspondence  of  Jonathan  vVorth  in  Publications  of  North 
Carolina  HistorTcal  Commission,  I7“l65. 

7.  Cartland«  Southern  Heroes,  12 B;  and  Boyle,  Sufferings  of  Friends 
of  N.  C.  Yearly  Meeting,  7-8. 


I. 

i 

; ) 

•! 

,r 


S', 


J 


t*.  ■■'  •:*/■'<  1 '■ 


■ rf  • ^ '■,  ,VT 

•.trj,;  .* 


i 


':r  r 


■ . ‘ ■ > trr  ■ ^ 

v-r' . ’ , 

'»  ■*  »■.'  t / * '/ 


, r 


/ I ■ ■fk  . .:#  'TA-iW 


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\ 


21 


of  reverses  the  Confederacy  was  forced  to  conscription  at  an 

earlier  date  than  in  the  north.  Under  the  conscription  act  of 

July  1862  every  man  between  the sges  of  eighteen  and  thirty-five 

0 

years  was  required  to  join  the  army.  During  the  months  of  Aug- 
ust and  September  memorials  were  sent  to  Congress  from  the  various 

9 

peace  sects  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  for  exemption. 

A delegation  of  five  prominent  Friends  visited  the  Con- 
federate Congress  and  President  Davis  in  an  attempt  to  secure 
exemption. The  efforts  of  the  delegation  resulted  in  the  pas- 
sage of  a law  on  October  11,  1862  exempting  those  who  had  been 
or  were  then  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends  and  the  Association 
of  Dunkards,  Na^arenes,  and  ^ennonites  in  regular  membership  in 
their  respective  denominations  provided  the  members  of  those  sects 
should  furnish  substitutes  or  pay  a tax  of  five  hundred  dollars 
each  into  the  public  treasury. It  was  said  that  Algernon  A. 

Gray  who  was  well  acquainted  with  the  llennonites  around  Harrison- 
burg had  great  influence  in  securing  the  release  of  prisoners  and 

12 

perhaps  in  the  passage  of  the  exemption  clause  of  the  Act  of  1862. 
The  Mennonite  Confession  taken  before  the  Confederate  officials 
by  its  followers  had  not  been  without  its  effect. 

Under  the  law  of  1862  President  Davis  had  been  author- 
ized to  call  into  the  military  service  all  "white  residents  of 

the  Confederate  states  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  forty-five 

8.  Cartland.  Southern  Heroes!  125. 

9.  Smith,  Mennonite s of  America.  121;  also  Journal  of  Confederate 
Congress.  II,  Senate  Documents,  vol.  26,  58  Cong.,  2 Sess,  239. 

10.  CartTand.  Southern  Heroes.  126. 

11.  Smith.  Mennonites  of  America . 121;  also  Cartland,  Southern 
Heroes.  125. 

12.  Smith,  Mennonites  of  America . 122. 


jpW®. 


' % *- 


n ; 'W  r ■»  wr  ■■  ■ ' ■ ■■  ■> 

,JLiAi 


- 


<tt 


’’^Krl  i'  vV"-'*  V>.  y • I,  :, 

'liL  ' A . . ^ . ’ ' \.  *”  • 


I.vi’.'svWi-  ,8S  ■ 


;xri«ft......  4»r.7  IV  .r^jfV  o.-ft 


t '/  ' j ■ I - ':.v^  , . T vs3l  ' V"' 

' ■ -^  , ■ ' ' ■ '■r 

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: ''^v» 

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1,,*?“^  ' . ’'  ■ .■•  '^  “■  ..  . ..;_ 


.Vi&: 


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vift..  I >1:  ■:._#  ♦ tif,  i- 


.«/  ■;- 


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swi.  ■ ..  .IP^'. . .,.  m .'■>,  a ■ ••  . 


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jr  fi<!iVi  iTif),  I .-sr  tA?*’  './ti  ' - f>  v'L 

nj''  , ■ ' ■ .•‘p^i-' ' . ' . V . -' gg^' '■  ‘ ""  .^' ' 

]^i  '!*'  J :^i  ^ , . V, : ■^4^4; ■' ■T^v--'^-jff™l. 


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22 


years  except  exempts.  The  first  class,  those  under  thirty-five 
were  called  out  in  1862.^^  After  the  terrific  losses  of  Gettys- 
burg and  the  discomfiture  of  Lee,  Davis  issued  an  address  to  the 

people  July  15,  1863  in  which  he  called  out  all  between  eighteen 

14 

and  forty-five  years  of  age  as  liable  to  bear  arras. 

Early  in  December  of  1863  President  Davis  suggested  to 

15 

Congress  that  the  list  of  exemptions  be  curtailed.  Later  in 

the  month  both  houses  of  Congress  passed  an  act  which  put  an 

end  to  the  exemption  from  military  service  of  those  who  had  up 

to  that  time  furnished  substitutes.^^  Such  curtailments  were  only 

17 

to  foreshadow  the  Act  of  February  17,  1864  which  d eclared  all 
white  men  between  seventeen  and  fifty  years  of  age  in  the  mili- 
tary service  of  the  Confederate  States  for  the  war.  Section  ten 
of  this  act  repealed  all  laws  granting  exemptions  from  military 
service  except  to  ministers  of  religion  authorized  to  preach  ac- 
cording to  the  rules  of  their  respective  churches  and  who,  at  the 
passage  of  the  act  were ■ regularly  employed  in  the  discharge  of 
their  ministerial  duties.  Under  the  provisions  of  this  law  no 
persons  who  had  furnished  substitutes  were  to  be  any  longer  ex- 
empted because  of  them.  The  one  exception  was  made,  however,  that 
no  person  who  had  previously  been  exempted  on  account  of  religious 

opinions  and  had  paid  the  commutation  tax  was  to  be  required  to 

18 

render  military  service.  Hot  until  the  summer  of  1864  were  the 

conscientious  objectors  to  secure  more  relief.  On  June  7 Congress 

13.  Lessing,  Civil  War  in  America  III,  96;  and  Cartland^ Southern 
Heroes,  125. 

14.  Lossing,  Civil  Mar  in  America,  III,  96. 

15.  Smith,  Llennonites  of  America,  122. 

16.  Jones,  Rebel  Mar  Clerk^s  Dl^ry,  II,  121-il22. 

17.  Confederate  Statutes  at  uarge,  1 Cong.,  4 Sess.,  211-213. 

18.  Ibid. , 211. 


i i 


I ’ "f  V 


^ W * ' N 


y J t K 


fi  r i^^.U  ■ ^ ij^.i  /“  • . ''  • 

' •«  ,.  >_.u  ^ ‘ A * n..“-  .■«  '*r.  *!*. 

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di  *»  ^ /«'  fH*.  '■y . •«  ■ StJ  : : it’ 

r . • 

\i:  T'/r-it'fti.A  i'Pi  r tiSH-'-' 

"''‘3  -’ .«  r- 

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I M . .!'■  '.■■• ' ,fc>;  Vo 

I , ,U'7‘’  . 

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- ■ " c 

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t.:.  i* 


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W i> ‘-  '•  '.  ' V r V »; .',’  ,f  •*  tv  .» ■ i 

•■’  • d'  , ‘jt  ''^y'  .,:j'  , r*  ; : '- V ■ ^ ■ 7) 


, -'-y-5  wy^  '4/tt.  

^ .;•,  Ji, j«  siri:'  ‘ p • » 

t*'.  Ik 


m 


t f 


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f ''I.  _ 

' * i#' 

?rt^l  J4vi>d4p^'  *Jgl!Rrg!fc»8p' .." 

il/' ■■  ...v/,-'.  'ilK 


■ft  ' • A 


23 


passed  an  amendment  to  the  Act  of  February  17,  1864  regarding 
the  exemption  of  certain  religious  denominations.  By  this  later 
act  Secretary  Seddon  vias  authorized  to  grant  exemption  to  the 
members  of  the  various  denominations  of  Christians  mentioned  in 
the  exemption  Act  of  October  11,  1862,  \’vho  at  that  time,  belonged 
to  the  same,  and  who  were  in  regular  membership,  -tiny  exemptions 
which  were  found  to  have  been  obtained  fraudulently  were  to  be 
revoked. 

Although  the  conscientious  objectors  of  the  South 
secured  recognition  under  the  laws  of  Congress  before  their 
northern  brethren  did,  yet  they  passed  through  a period  of  sus- 
pension of  exemption  and  were  finally  released  under  clauses  so 
severely  framed  that  the  recently  converted  objector  found  no  balm 
for  his  wounded  conscience. 


19.  Confederate  Statutes  at  Large,  2 Cong.  1 Sess,  261 


24 


CHAPTER  III 

ATTITUDE  OF  THE  NORTHERN  ADMINISTRATION 

The  position  of  those  northerners  who  were  conscien- 
tiously opposed  to  hearing  arms  though  severe  and  difficult  enough 
to  hear  did  not  compare  with  the  lot  of  their  fellow  members  in 
the  south.  The  Friends  and  other  non-comhatant  sects  had  no 
cause  for  complaint  against  the  attitude  of  the  northern  adminis- 
tration. The  sympathies  of  the  two  administrations  were  as  op- 
posite to  each  other  as  the  principles  for  which  they  fought. 

President  Lincoln,  himself  of  viuaker  ancestry,  was 
appreciative  of  their  religious  views  and  was  always  ready  to 
receive  them^when  they  came  before  him  in  the  interests  of  their 
sect.  The  Friends  were  in  a peculiar  position  regarding  the  war. 
Their  two  chief  religious  tenets  opposed  both  war  and  slavery. 
Lincoln  recognized  this  and  their  readiness  to  favor  every  act  of 
the  administration  which  might  abridge  or  terminate  slavery,  yet 

he  keenly  sensed  the  dilemma  with  which  they  were  confronted  when 

2 

it  came  to  the  only  means  left  to  preserve  the  nation.  In  all 
cases  which  came  before  his  attention  Lincoln  showed  the  same 
sympathetic  interest  and  a desire  to  alleviate  the  sufferings  of 
a people  who  were  resisting  military  service  only  by  reason  of 

3 

sincere  conviction  against  the  bearing  of  arms.  He  was  in  pe- 
culiar s:^,Tnpathy  with  their  scruples  and  wished  in  every  way  to 

1.  Cartland,  Southern  Heroes,  129. 

2.  Nicolay  and  ^^ay.  Abraham'  ’ Lincoln  VI,  326. 

3.  B.  M.  Jones,  Later^Prioas  of  Quakerism  II,  736. 


— U*  ' ••J 


!i  . 


’ k ■^f  «•#...  I 


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rr  \ ).') 


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... 


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^.  . . I*  -•  .* 


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■ r f ."C  j I'  '1  Uj| 


■jlki 

,r 


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'-iii- 


J.  .'ll 


Vf  • ( 


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...1  '•>  s •:.  ?' 


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M VT  -pV  • \ ‘ 

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<>»»*•• 


25 

relieve  their  burdens,  yet  constitutionally  he  f elt  that  he 
must  do  all  within  his  power  to  enforce  the  conscription  laws 
to  their  fullest  extent  for  the  most  speedy  prosecution  of  the 
war,  ViOienever  he  could  do  so  without  deriding  his  powers,  he 
intervened  with  his  prerogative  on  occasions  of  peculiar  hard- 
ship.'^ 

Lincoln  in  turn  greatly  appreciated  the  sympathy  of 
Sbriends  and  others  toward  him  in  his  great  trials  and  responsi- 
bilities. In  January  of  1862  the  Quakers  of  Iowa  sent  him  an 

(5 

address  through  Senator  Harlan  to  whom  he  replied  that  it  was 
most  cheering  and  encouraging  to  him  to  know  that  in  the  efforts 
which  he  was  making  to  restore  peace  to  the  nation  that  he  was 
upheld  and  sustained  by  the  good  wishes  and  prayers  of  such  a 
people.  No  one  more  than  he  was  aware  of  the  need  of  Divine 
Wisdom  in  guiding  the  great  struggle  of  the  nation.  A few 
months  later  in  answer  to  a letter  from  the  1-tiakers  of  Rhode 
Island  he  said:  "Engaged  as  I am,  in  a great  war,  I fear  it 
will  be  difficult  for  the  world  to  understand  how  fully  I appre- 
ciate the  principles  of  peace  inculcated  in  this  letter  and 
everywhere  by  the  Society  of  ?riends,"6 

iffhile  Lincoln  greatly  appreciated  the  friendship  of 
those  who  came  to  him  and  laboured  about  him,  the  friendship  for 
none  of  them  is  more  significant  than  that  of  a sincere  Quaker 
woman.  Eliza  P.  Gurney  of  Burlington,  New  Jersey,  the  widow  of 

Joseph  John  Gurney,  a distinguished  English  minister  of  the 

4.  Nicolay  and  Hay,  ^^.br ^haitf  Lincoln,  VT^  327 . 

5.  Ibid.., 327-8.  ^ 

6.  Ibid^328. 


' ■ ' 


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26 


Society  of  Friends,  was  a woman  of  deep  spirituality,  refined 
tastes,  and  much  ability.  One  rainy  morning  during  the  first 

7 

week  of  1862  she  with  a small  party  of  Friends  paid  him  a visit. 

During  the  course  of  the  visit  prayers  were  offered  for  the 

President  and  the  nation.  Lincoln  was  so  deeply  touched  by 

Mrs*  Ourney's  prayer  for  him  that  silent  tears  rolled  down  the 

8 

cheeks  of  the  great  President.  A few  months  later  she  wrote 

him  a letter  in  which  she  expressed  her  sympathy  for  him  and  her 

appreciation  of  his  attitude  toward  the  Friends  in  the  war.  It 

is  an  interesting  sidelight  that  Lincoln  so  highly  prized  this 

letter  that  it  was  found  in  his  breast  pocket  when  he  was  shot 

by  J.  Wilkes  Booth,  nearly  two  years  la  ter. ^ Lincoln's  reply 

to  her  in  September  of  1864  is  esoecially  significant  of  the 

character  of  the  man  and  his  deep  appreciation  of  her  visit  to 
10 

him. 

"My  Esteemed  Friend:  I have  not  forgotten,  probably 

never  shall  forget,  the  very  impressive  occasion  when  yourself 
and  friends  visited  me  on  a Sabbath  forenoon  Uno  years  ago.  Nor 
has  your  kind  letter,  written  nearly  a year  later,  ever  been  for- 
gotten. In  all  it  has  been  your  purpose  to  strengthen  my  reli- 
ance in  God.  I am  much  indebted  to  the  good  Christian  people 
of  the  country  for  their  constant  prayers  and  consolations,  and 
to  no  one  of  them  more  than  to  yourself.  'I'he  purposes  of  the 
Almighty  are  perfect  and  must  prevail,  though  we  erring  mortals 

may  fail  to  accurately  perceive  them  in  advance.  We  hoped  for 

Tl  Car tl and.  Southern  Heroes,  132. 

8.  Ibid., 132. 

9.  Ibid,, 153. 

10.  Nicolay  and  Hay,  Abraham  Lincoln,  VI,  328-9;  McPherson,  Poll t . 
Hist,  of  U • S.  of  America  during  the  Rebellion.  605-6;  Amer- 
ican CEurch  HisTorv  Serifts  TTT. 


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r3w'’  ,'H ' ii 


87 


a happy  termination  of  this  terrible  war  long  before  this;  but 
God  knows  best,  and  has  ruled  otherwise,  V/e  shall  yet  acknow- 
ledge His  wisdom  and  our  own  errors  therein;  meanwhile  we  must 
work  earnestly  in  the  best  light  He  gives  us,  trusting  that  so 
working  still  conduces  to  the  great  ends  He  ordains.  Surely 
he  intends  some  great  good  to  follow  this  mighty  convulsion  which 
no  mortal  could  make,  and  no  mortal  could  stay. 

"Your  people — the  Friends — have  had,  and  are  having, 
very  great  trials  on  principles  and  faith,  opposed  to  both  war 
and  oppression.  i'hey  can  only  practically  opoose  oppression  by 
war.  In  this  hard  dilemma,  some  have  chosen  one  horn  and  some 
the  other, 

"For  1hose  appealing  to  me  on  conscientious  grounds  I 
have  done  and  shall  do  the  best  I could  and  can  in  my  own  con- 
science under  my  oath  to  the  law.  That  you  believe  this  I 
doubt  not,  and  believing  it  I shall  still  receive  for  my  coun- 
try and  myself  your  earnest  prayers  to  our  Father  in  Heaven, 

Your  sincere  friend, 

A.  Lincoln" 

This  promise  Lincoln  faithfully  kept.  The  three 
hundred  dollars  was  accepted  for  hospital  supplies,  hospital 
service  was  furnished,  and  where  any  conscience  was  not  free  to 
accept  either  or  it  seemed  unwise,  they  we^-e  "paroled  until 
called  for"and  were  never  called  for.  Many  Friends,  however,  vol- 
unteered to  nurse  the  sick  and  wounded  and  some  of  them  even  went 

/II 

upon  the  battlefields  to  perform  such  merciful  work..-- 
11 , Gartland.  Southern  Heroes,  136-1Z7 . 


■ : ■f'.  .t' 


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f.  ;r;a.,  \ 

)iik.  JCl  «1 


!S  ^ - fi 

* « ^ 


28 


Not  directly  bearing  on  the  treatment  of  conscienti- 
ous objectors,  but  of  interest,  is  an  incident  showing  Linc- 
oln's leniency  and  sympathy  toward  that  group  of  people.  Eliz- 
abeth L.  Comstock,  a Eriends  minister,  made  it  a habit  during 
the  war  to  visit  army  hospitals  and  prisons.  3he  was  once  re- 
fused admittance  by  some  army  chaplains  to  pray  with  the  boys 
in  one  of  the  army  hospitals  whereupon  she  went  to  Lincoln 
and  told  him  her  story.  He  at  once  gave  her  a note  granting 

her  access  to  all  hospitals  and  to  all  inmates  with  whom  she 

12 

desired  to  hold  religious  services.  It  was  only  three  days 
later  that  the  a ssassin' s bullet  put  out  that  life  which  had  been 
given  so  much  to  service  for  others. 

Lincoln's  cabinet  was  popularly  known  as  the  "Quaker 
War  Cabinet"  because  the  members  of  it  were  always  lenient  to 

13 

the  Friends  who  were  opposed  to  fighting  on  consicentious  grounds. 
Attorney-Ceneral  Bates  and  Salmon  P.  Chase  were  said  to  have 
some  connection  with  Friends,  it  is  a rather  more  curious  fact 
that  H.  W.  Halle ck  who  was  at  one  time  General- in  Chief  of  the 
armies  remained  a member  of  i^ewport,  Hhode  Island  Meeting  dur- 
ing the  war,  due  to  an  over-'ight  caused  by  his  removal  to  the 
west.  Of  all  the  members  of  the  cabinet  perhaps  none  was  brought 
into  closer  contact  with  those  of  the  so-called  tender  conscien- 
ces than  Secretary  of  War  Stanton  whose  own  mother  was  a minister 

14 

among  the  Friends  and  lived  in  Ohio  during  the  war.  It  was 

12.  Cart] and.  Southern  Heroes,  137. 

13.  Ibid.,  129. 

14.  Ibid.^  129. 


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.^.'■■v tv.fi'!  >'  |ty^^."r.«o*'i||{^<r  r.!4.»f^  »pfc  '''’I’si^^^ili?  ■s^!*#jgi«k-I 

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I ..v!l''ci'*iiL  .4' U4'i>v' 1/ '-  ‘r'lJLWt  '«'.' 


L:  V.. 


29 


in  ITovember  1863  that  two  members  of  the  Baltimore  Yearly  Meet- 
ing (Orthodox)  went  before  Secretary  Stanton  and  set  forth  to 

him  the  sufferings  of  their  fellow  members  under  the  existing 
15 

draft  law.  He  deeply  sympathized  with  them  and  would  have 
willingly  granted  them  release  but  because  of  his  oaths  to  exe- 
cute the  laws  he  felt  he  had  no  legal  power  to  grant  them  com- 
plete and  unconditional  exemption. In  view  of  the  large  draft 
expected  he  invited  them  to  call  a conference  of  Friends  repre- 
sentatives from  all  parts  of  the  country  to  draw  up  a plan  of 

exemption  to  submit  to  the  Secretary  of  War  for  his  consider- 
17 

ation.  His  proposition  which  he  hoped  would  at  once  both  sat- 
isfy them  and  relieve  him  and  the  government  of  embarassment 
was  to  create  a special  fund  for  the  care  of  freedmen  by 

which  each  Friend  drafted  was  to  be  exempted  by  the  payment  of 

18 

three  hundred  dollars.  The  payment  was  not  to  be  as  in  other 
oases  to  the  district  provnst  marshal,  but  to  his  fiscal  agent 
at  Washington,  to  be  credited  to  the  freedmen  and  the  Friends 
should  have  the  disbursement  of  it  through  their  own  agents  or 
laborers.  Mr.  Stanton  had  expressed  his  appreciation  of  the 
interest  of  the  Friends  in  the  Freedmen  and  was  willing  to  ac- 
cept this  aid  as  the  only  legal  means  of  relief  which  he  saw  in 
1 9 

his  power. 

15.  R.  M.  Jones,  Later  l*eriods  of  Quakerism.  TT^  732. 

16.  Pringle,  Record  of  a ^^uaker  Gonscience.  82. 

17.  R.  M.  Jones,  Later  Periods  of  sluakerism,  II,  732. 

18.  Gartland,  Southern  Heroes.  129-130. 

R.  M.  Jones,  Later  Periods  of  Quakerism,  II,  732-3. 

x9.  Ibid,  732-3. 

' » 


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30 


In  accordance  x'sith  Secretary  Stanton's  advice,  a con- 
ference of  twenty-five  Friends  representing  New  England,  New  York, 
Baltimore,  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  A^estern  Yearly  Meetings  met  in  Bal- 
timore December  7,  1863,  In  a unaniinous  minute  the  delegates 
declared  their  unshaken  loyalty  to  their  traditional  belief  that 
war  is  forbidden  in  the  Gospel  and  therefore  they  could  not  con- 
tribute to  its  support  or  in  any  way  participate  in  its  spirit. 
They  expressed  their  opinion  that  to  render  other  service  as  equiv^ 
alent  to  or  in  lieu  of  any  other  military  service  would  be  a com- 
promise of  a vital  principle  which  they  felt  conscientiously 
bound  to  uphold  under  any  circumstances  and  notwithstanding  any 
trials  which  they  might  suffer.  A committee  of  three  composing 
Francis  T.  Xing  of  Baltinore,  Samuel  Tobey  of  New  England,  and 
Charles  F.  Coffin  of  Indiana  were  then  appointed  by  the  Confer- 
ence to  visit  Stanton  and  submit  to  him  their  decision.  He 
received  them  with  kindness,  but  was  firm  in  his  stand  that  the 
preferred  plan  was  the  only  hope  which  they  might  expect  of  se- 
curing relief.  Although  the  Conference  had  refused  Stanton's  of- 
fer, he  succeeded  in  introducing  his  idea  into  the  next  new  draft 
law  and  that  which  had  not  satisfied  official  friends  wias  made 
use  of  by  many  individual  members. 

In  the  north,  the  attitude  of  even  local  officials 

was  generally  quite  lenient.  Alien  Friends  received  notice  that 

their  names  had  been  drawn  in  the  draft  they  quite  frequently  sent 

word  to  the  proper  officials  that  they  were  unable  to  accept 
SO.  R.  k.  JnHes,  Later  Periods  of  Quakerism,  733. 


wt/ 


,i7,; 


f 

^T-  !S  ' ' ■ <t**3  ai 

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*.,  s'i  (fUi  i.":  , .Cl  Xf  t f ' ■ f-  ■ ' & ,:^ , f*  i^TS- 5 .^,  iaS  t Hr^ 

/ idSHl 

.•  iv- ft«*7 •*  ./ifef^i^c’^,  ; 51  ^£S.i a r ^ 

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r’  t: 


31 


military  service  or  pay  any  commutation  money  and  that  their 

conscientious  scruples  forbade  their  going  voluntarily  to  camp, 

but  that  they  could  always  be  found  at  their  home  address  where 

the  officer  could  come  for  them  if  he  thought  they  must  be  taken 

to  camp.  Under  such  circumstances  the  officer  often  found  a way 

to  avoid  the  extreme  measures  and  allowed  the  JTriends  to  remain 
21 

unmolested. 


21.  R.  M.  Jpnes,  Later  Periods  of  Quakerism.  II,  736 


f ',c>  P'r.*  " ' t'  ■ V . . 

;.\X.  < W. 

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■r i '^<1  .t  Jt-  JU £ y 

JA_  I.  .'-.  '■  ■■,.■■  . ' US  ■ " • , ' . I ■• 

it^'v  q a ft's '‘•'J/4F  fjl  .- ^ .<  | - J 

^ ■■  ■ ^'  . ! « 

j,^ 


S><  “ X 


• ^■ 

.^la  t:  ^ " 

ffrl'  -'-'  ' \*'-v  ..  :,;V  ' >'^  ^ , ,™.  „„.  , 

5r, . ^ J ,/r^' j^-'  •f*''ii  "■  B.i  - c;:. •■  -••«’  It*  4--,_  n---  b^T  ' . 'I*'-. 

.■■ij  • ' ■ *^■^5'' 

.11^  %4‘‘  '*’■■  " t<iC:V».  0 


I <ii  ni)  H* 

' -’.  •*  ''  ' . , 


JHAPTER  IV 

THE  STATUS  OE  THE  SOUTHERN  CONSCIENTIOUS  OBJECTORS 


52 


The  position  of  the  conscientious  objectors  within 

the  limits  of  the  confederacy  was  quite  different  from  that 

of  those  across  Mason  and  Dixon's  line.  The  main  reason  for 

this  difference  of  situation  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the 

southern  administration  was  far  from  having  sympathy  with  them. 

The  unpopularity  of  the  peace  sects  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 

when  one  considers  the  widely  divergent  views  between  those 

sects  and  the  newly  instituted  government  over  them.  In  the 

first  place,  the  Southern  Eriends  were  still  loyal  at  heart  to 

the  Government  of  the  United  States.^  Not  only  that,  but  they 

testified  against  slavery,  an  offense  in  the  fresh  effort  to  more 

firmly  establish  it.  Because  of  their  opposition  to  slavery 

2 

and  their  opposition  to  secession,  they  were  strongly  suspected 
of  being  Union  men.  The  Q,uahers,  Mennonites,  and  Dunkards  were 
all  Republicans  and  anti-slavery  men  so  the  Confederates  thought 
it  was  not  so  much  a case  of  conscientious  scruples  against 
war  as  a hatred  of  the  slave  power  itself. 

The  question  of  numbers  was  a significant  fact  in  the 
case  of  the  southern  objectors.  The  non-resistant  sects  were 

5 

fewer  in  numbers  in  the  south.  Not  only  were  they  fewer  in 
numbers  but  they  were  less  widely  scattered  over  the  Confederate 

1.  Boyle,  Account  of  Sufferings,  8;  for  similar  account  see 
Weeks,  Southern  Quakers  and  Slavery,  305;  and  Cartland, 
Southern  Heroes,  126, 

2.  R.  k,  Jones,  Later  Periods  of  Quakerism,  II,  742. 

3.  Wick,  Amish  Mennonites,  291 


1 


'''  . ®''  ’I  ^4’/  . w .-'r.  t'-  r-,-  ■ :.  • , 

i • ■'  :^;™“  ■■■>' 


■s^-.-'v-;  ■“-■ 


SSsO’r-'tUc^  t:l’0!  . 


l'/i> 


0 i|f  4 > nr  <■  ■x  c ) -■  ^ * 0 » ■'  lj<?  i :T  ' ' 1^  A t:  «-0  b i 


LH.v».^  ui.'fT  ,fr«T\»*.  ,.b  rt.i  i>7'  ■ ^v'.' 

vw.  ' >, 


>t  "=‘’ 

I 16  ; 


m..:\ 


- I' 


!.( 


t ' I'  <!  * \,A  : 

IP  ' .■  ‘ 

[ 


-^.i. . . ■ y.  ■ ^'  '• 


1 ‘ : 

. ; '■  &,  ' ' 


V ■•  ' '^  '*h'  *■  ' *V  ■■  '■  - 

i’  ^:  ,' j-  ^ i'Li  /•Ktir'.'v?  'y^ 


> 'J 


.;;  » 1^7  . ;i^.  . J * ’ 


r ," 


•!rl 


>-V,"  V.\  ^ ’ c I 


* I 


^.i;  *. 


■ *^,1  :' r V‘ .ft  ■ 


*r  V ■ ;•';  y‘l("  ' ‘ ' t. 


••,'M 


:si;::srt^;  h:  t.»! 


' ' ifj " 

ff 

■v^ 


]if'  /,  i’n**i^  k'*fViSii,' 


T.:f^  /.yi.,?  f-ri:v  r'/Aff^j!',. 


';■«  V ’ ''f A 

' jj4  iwt.’^ 


..'  .i 


‘rrJ’ 


■li'Ti  ' 


4 ' 


.■^i,'m..&''7'-  i'  .'^ti'^r^' 


V. 


4*1 


33 


territory.  It  was  said  that  during  the  war  the  Friends  were 
only  divided  from  their  northern  brethren  by  geographical  lines 
and  military  law.  After  crossing  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  they 
had  only  to  find  a community  of  Friends  to  find  a home  and  all 
the  necessaries  of  life.  They  were  especially  welcome  in  the 
West  where  many  of  the  inhabitants,  or  their  ancestry  had  moved 
away  from  the  South  because  of  their  lack  of  s;.rmpathy  with  the 
slavery  question.  In  many  cases  the  refugees  were  related  to 

4 

those  among  whom  they  went. 

The  objectors  of  the  South  were  found  almost  entirely 
in  the  three  states  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  Tennessee. 
Virginia  was  the  only  state  in  the  south  in  which  the  Mennonites 

5 

were  found.  North  Carolina  had  no  other  non-combatant  sects 
within  her  borders  besides  the  Friends.  However,  the  great 
majority  of  that  sect  were  located  within  that  state. At  the 
beginning  of  the  war,  most  of  the  Friends  were  located  in  the 
central  and  northwestern  parts  of  the  state,  in  Iredell,  Jakdin, 
Surrey,  Davie,  Guilford,  Randolph,  Alamance,  and  Chatham  counties. 
There  were  also  six  small  churches  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
state  in  Wa3me,  Northhampton,  and  Perquimans  counties.®  Because 
of  their  variance  with  the  principles  of  slavery  and  the  effect 
of  their  attitude  on  their  economic  and  social  position,  many 

4.  Cartland,  Southern  Zeroes,  122.  ^ ' 

5.  Smith,  Mennonites  of  America.  121. 

6.  State  ment  of  D.  H.  Hill,  Sec'y  of  North  Carolina  Histor- 
ical Commission  in  letter  to  w*-iter. 

7.  R.  M.  Jones,  Later  Periods  of  Quakerism.  II,  742. 

8.  Cartland,  Southern  Heroes.  117. 


34 

9 

Quakers  sought  homes,  friends,  and  relatives  in  the  west.  So 
large  were  the  migrations  after  the  first  conscription  Act  had 
been  passed  by  the  legislature  in  1862  that  the  authorities 
took  every  means  to  prevent  further  emigrations.  Several  par- 
ties were  arrested  and  brought  back  by  soldiers  sent  in  pursuit 
of  them.^^  Before  the  war  closed  the  emigrants  usually  went 
through  Baltimore.  They  frequently  arrived  there  in  an  almost 
destitute  condition  and  were  often  forwarded  to  the  west  through 
the  kindness  of  Baltimore  Friends. 

As  in  the  case  of  North  Carolina  Friends  so  many  of 
the  Virginia  Friends  had  moved  west  because  of  their  opposition 
to  slavery  that  when  the  war  began  there  were  only  a few  small 
remnants  of  meetings  within  the  state.  One  of  these  was  in 

IP 

the  vicinity  of  Winchester.  Friends  in  that  vicinity  were 
generally  considered  as  Union  men  and  in  consequence  were  shown 
special  attention  by  groups  of  marauders  who  went  about  seizing 
whatever  they  could  to  further  their  own  interests  or  the  inter- 
ests of  the  Confederacy.^^  The  Shenandoah  valley  was  the 
coveted  territory  of  the  armies  of  both  governments.  Much  of 
the  support  of  the  southern  arnycame  from  that  section  because 
of  which  fact  the  northern  army  was  more  eager  to  deprive  them 
of  it.  Winchester  was  the  center  of  a most  terrible  struggle. 
Even  the  meeting-house  at  that  place  was  occupied  by  soldiers 

9T  Boyle.  Account  of  Sufferingi^  W, 

10.  Cartland,  Southern  Heroes.  125;  also  j bid.  142. 

11.  Weeks,  Southern  ^;.uakers  and  Slavery.  309. 

12.  Cartland.  SoutHern  ^e~roes.  330. 

13.  Ibid„  334. 


■-■  ‘^(f  '-  ■ '.V  ' ’•  t ' ;■  r.r*/: 


"K- *■••.-/•  ^ •*■  / ^ T r . ’ • . ■ vf/ 

-■  “ . ' t’i'  ’‘'*"\  '■  •'.{•.'•  • •:%  .V,.  - • , ■*;■■*■  ‘ ''^ 


,•  “.‘-?.i^t  1^*1' aa J 


rti  - . '•  i.'.  ■ . .v.Bli'-.  . , . ,';,  '*>v..,» 

•^‘  - ' fr  f;>V.  B Jj/ n^iisrr^f 


ci  • rrr.fiL  ’ ?; t • di f " • t..  2 

Sr*  \ . ■*'  ’ 

('  ,.:  *-*«:■  ..  P y)y’' 


I 


n 


Ify 


^>1^'  ’ C‘  ^ 


. , , ■ I ■>-\j''f‘-y ' 

" >A.'  '*4j| 

Wi.y-'tel  frj' 


.;i,  ’’*■■  :'i  ■'  . ' . ',i<*^^'t  ’•  ,- ;,  ■■■.•■  '.. 

■ 8 . ••  '■■  ‘ t.fi  x'7  ••  •:  [p'  H!#.  ’ ' 

ni^ , Hi  /' . • )>'■'■  -.''s'y..':  ■ . ^"i.„ ■ •’^■i  y-^* 


<MI 


, ^f<i 


, y . ..  .y-  ^4.,  ;,^5|  ;■  V V ,: ' ;.^r^ 

lii  ■*'  *■- 


A l^  -^S 


• ■ lA^iiM 

Ik»^sg4f4ag<r 


1.4 1 


55 


for  some  time  so  that  the  Friends  were  compelled  to  meet  around 

* 14 

for  worship  in  the  private  homes  of  some  of  their  members. 

There  were  also  groups  in  southern  Virginia  in  Richmond  and 

15 

in  Loudoun  counties,  not  far  from  Washington,  D.  G.  All  the 

Virginia  Friends  baionged  to  the  two  Baltimore  Yearly  Meetings 

(Orthodox  and  Hicksite),  but  their  cases  of  suf fering  w ere  so 

ably  dealt  with  by  efficient  committees  that  they  were  not 

forced  to  endure  such  severe  trials  as  the  Friends  who  lived 
X 6 

further  south.  At  the  close  of  the  war  Virginia  Friends  were 

so  reduced  in  numbers  that  only  four  small  meetings  were  left. 

Black  Greek,  Somerton,  Gedar  Greek,  and  Richmond.  These  were 

17 

known  as  the  Virginia  Half  Year's  Meeting.  The  Quakers  with- 
in old  Virginia  Yearly  Meeting  apparently  sympathized  with  the 
south  more  than  those  of  any  other  section.  It  was  not  an 
unnatural  state  of  affairs  for  they  were  controlled  more  by 
circumstances  than  many  others  because  of  the  fewness  of  their 
numbers,  but  even  then  they  maintained  a position  of  absolute 
neutra li ty. 

With  the  opening  of  hostilities  not  many  Friends  were 
left  in  Tennessee.  Most  of  them  had  lived  in  Blount  County. 
They  had  migrated  from  the  state  for  reasons  similar  to  those 
of  their  North  Carolina  and  Virginia  brethren.  Not  a Friend 

could  be  found  in  Tennessee  who  sympathized  with  the  principles 

14.  Cartland.  Southern  Heroes.  335. 

15.  R.  M,  Jones,  i^ater  Periods  juakerivsm.  742. 

16.  Ibid.,  742. 

17.  Gartxand,  Southern  Heroes.  345, 

18.  Weeks,  Southern  "Quakers  and  Slavery.  304. 

19.  Cartland,  Southern  ^er_oes,  300. 


■tf 


r..\ 


,•!*•  *A)0<b  ‘ ii«'.'tfu('r.Wi>  <’l-  r^'tifv.  •.  ?v  ,,  j I 

d>^*'  ','  '■  ■ f-y  " ' - ■ ■ '■  ^ '•'■■>'ii  ' *>d' 

li»'- * '■  ' “•  ^ '■*  ’ ' ' ' ' i4 

. '’'’K  of  '^' 


'*  * * *i*'i''  ^ '*  ^ * *Jf  ^j.  ^ y . *1  ' 

r-'.-W'^  ‘C'  ■■  '■  . ■ ^--  '■►■:'■  ■■£;:u.v,  _ , 

■’■•  ” -'■  -•  './'* V, .'  ^ * 

K ‘f-‘  '\iiK-’  ’ t</t. • ‘iif-  A^ojullt  '•••, 

■ , •■ " '■  m .. : .j|is ^ 

' 'rf  -v-*  ■•■*/•''''■>■>  /'IjsbHTw' 

j-^\  ^4f-  *#»v‘.'.  ••«  'V r.flw^^Rr  ..-* . 

> -♦  *••  ■ V i ^ y''^'  t*  , » ./ll  ,*, 


■,f\-  i;v.r'  N :V.(i'T,  v;  ■ ' i’*y n^T-  ‘’^'•^^^Mr:‘ 

■^w>r ■ ’r< 4i; ' tfr <? c. ® r-. '?;•  .'  '.ii, 

'.i.t  A . ■ • V.  'i4  II  ■“  •.  ijiCU  ''  Xj  '., 

k^M  __  ' * * 


.-.  - 

V *'■  : ' ■ V ' ■ ‘ ■ . 

i;!  (>.>,|^j  '1.  ,|«ir -;'i4  ■ 

«!|TY^  'Art'  ' -'  i'sFJ 

■ ^ 

■.  .:t^- 1»< Tv  ;.:>•. !&»■  •}  • V 

I '■  V'^^'^-'  -V  ^ '. 

SM>-‘-.‘Vt*  ■ >’’Y  ■*;•*•’!»  .tiilt. j,r.^ 

.iv  '•  ’ ' j '■  •;  •.^.^•'  . <:^; hM' . -'njSMK  ■ 

wM4^r  ■ ■■'i  'i'»  mm-d 

■«:  ijaLi 


• ...  *iV«-/^rN^-  J •^i.r,*.  Fi  f-‘¥  ^‘-Tr«^'  . * I JP- 


.^r 


36 


of  slavery  or  secession. Their  straits  were  hard  enough,  tut 

it  was  much  easier  for  them  to  escape  them  and  migrate  to  the 

west  than  it  was  for  those  Friends  who  lived  across  the  moun- 

tains  in  North  Carolina,  Quite  a numter  of  those  Tennessee 

Friends  escaped  military  service  by  seeking  refuge  and  an  abode 

in  caves,  the  two  most  famous  of  such  caves  being  known  as 

2 P 

Providence  and  Cud jo’s  Cave. 

The  last  and  greatest  factor  in  the  southern  hatred 

of  the  conscientious  objectors  came  in  their  absolute  refusal 

to  fight  at  a time  when  preaching  in  almost  every  other  place 

2 

gave  way  to  a call  for  arms.  So  far  as  is  known  only  one 
southern  Friend  gave  up  his  faith  and  went  into  battle  to  fight. 
AS  soon  as  it  was  known  he  was  promptly  disowned  by  the  meeting. 
The  Meeting  did  not  consider  a money  payment  a surrender  of 
principle.  Some  prominent  North  Carolina  Friends  even  advised 
it  but  only  a small  number  took  advantage  of  that  alternative. 

In  1862  when  the  act  proposing  to  exempt  all  those 
conscientiously  opposed  to  bearing  arms  from  military  service 
upon  the  payment  of  five  hundred  dollars,  or  the  performance  of 
services  in  connection  with  the  hospitals  was  being  discussed, 
a delegation  of  five  Friends  went  before  the  Confederate  Congress 
to  put  before  them  the  Friends’  principles  of  peace.  The  five 

were  all  men  of  ability  and  good  standing  in  the  cojnmunities 

20.  Cartland,  Southern  heroe^  i^oS, 

21.  Ibid..  299, 

22.  R.  M.  Jones,  Later  Periods  of  Quakerism,  745. 

23.  Boyle,  Account  of  Sufferings,  8;  and  Cartland,  Southern  Heroes 
126. 

24.  R.  M.  Jones,  Later  Periods  of  Quakerism,  753. 


■ • Aa.  ■■  ^ Ti  '.‘’ ■ ..' 


■rS.u'-  >ie  ^^t<<  .<  r4ptt  i ^ ■■•  tv ■?*' 

I Jl'-^  t^ts  ‘."‘^vu'iJ  :* 

'^  ■ ’ ' ■ .,1 


-i^, 


V.;  :■  ',  , j.  ' f V , ■ 

Iff  ^ y-:ur  -Mt  K-f  i- fi^i>  I'  ’cJ'3^^",  t . ’'■ft'*Cjtottr'®'ii'  '■  Viv  »ilG« 


' • '-'^  ^ y^i 

t * ' . 

* ■ ,<  'I 


yA 


'Z< 


> t I '■•  .'  0''’‘i~'i«^  'i.6  , *it? ' •<  ^ • '•■ti 


h'  ' :'  ■ '■  "i. 'V  .;V.  'M  ^ 

1.  ’ ^v-.tf^  iCtJ'Ho-.  ■*i  ^ 

. \>'\-¥'tmiM^JSa  . 4^--'  /'  ^*'  ^.'  ' ' - 

*’  '-.f  ^'‘'T^  ' OMvp  .OY^  k't), '*,»’*■. 


V/ 


'T->M 


■’  ‘‘-  * ‘ ' 1,  r ^ ^ f+  r 

^Mjs'.ii.a  « '-iui-  <ii.  ■':  *Tt* 

“ ■ ■'.  . ...  ■ ‘■■-'^  . • ■>'  ,-.  ■>:...,- "r.i„  -t 

^ t»  '*7  ''^l''^,^'0  1. '!  ,|JI 

.v«  > Pf  I 

vl  y'  ';.</>  f.^  ' .%H4V ” 

'■m.  ..-r,  . :..,'"^- 


t 


'■'■  ‘>Vfi  i Co/'  ’1,1 


■J/ 


^.V'f.  'A  :;4.f!s.-;(«i-fi  4<}'U%  o,»4V‘<^v*  feo«‘|V  Vnrc^^^iK 


. •■/.  •’•  :.'v'.*  -■  / '•  ' 1;:  ■:  ^ 

t f'  '”i  liMiiiti TV-  ■:  ■; ^ T ^ :•  «V  • %tff  ^ i ? ojp., 


htfrlt' 

<id^ 


?:  ,..  '■  ' ^>^'i'>V‘ • l3■^''■  V 3 

••■■-  . ■:  .■  ;,(<_  ' il^eK  'v 


!4 


3c  ^j«i!Cf'.)  Jf 


ytv  ^.y^afr  ;y T:  It/)-  -if  ■ if#r  76^^ 


Mf' 


, ll 


il 


^iV''rt-^ 


1^ 


/ ■■  p« 


1 1 . 


t.  '< 


^1 


,^.n*'i-VH-4-';  •-'  'J-'  -'■’  0f^‘  •••  -■•■'  , :riv.  •;^',  JW^4  #«'5f' .'  ■'^V.*.>W 

■'■■  fi:  ■:  -,  . 

XJf  ■ ..  ‘ . .vt,f^jfe4  ;ii  .'^t«»v  . 


iME 


L 'JjIL  . (.  ■ AU  ‘ .ir'  .'k  •. 

^■' ■•  ‘ 'a,-: 


'■>1 


.."I 


\j  l> 


r.  % 


-C!j:  'giBqyytuptji^ 


37 


and  known  as  Friends  throughout  the  country.  Their  memorial 

to  Congress  was  presented  by  John  Garter  and  Nereus  Mendenhall. 

It  was  laid  before  the  Senate  by  Honorable  William  T.  Dortch  and 

T E6 

before  the  House  by  the  Honorable  J.  R.  McDean. 

A most  interesting  account  of  this  Quaker  committee 
has  been  recorded:  ”We  were  treated w ith r espect  by  every  one 

with  whom  we  conversed  on  the  subject  and  by  some,  with  tender- 
ness of  feeling.  We  may  particularly  mention  William  B.  Pres- 
ton of  Virginia,  chairman  of  the  committee  on  military  affairs 
for  the  Senate  and  William  Porcher  Miles,  chairman  of  a similar 
commitee  fer  the  House.  On  an  interview  with  the  former  he 
told  us  to  make  ourselves  entirely  easy  on  the  subject;  that 
the  Senate  committee,  in  acting  upon  it,  were  unanimously  in 
favor  of  recommending  an  entire  exemption.  He  said  that  some 
were  for  requiring  us  to  furnish  substitutes  but  that  he  was 
well  aware  that  we  could  not  conscientiously  do  that,  and  that 
nothing  but  a clear  and  full  exemption  would  meet  our  scruples* 
Miles,  chairman  of  the  House  Committee  invited  us  to  a hearing, 
in  their  room,  before  the  committee  at  large,  and  took  pains 
to  arrange  the  sittings  as  much  as  possible  to  suit  our  conven- 
ience. We  here  had  the  very  acceptable  company  and  assistance 

E7 

of  John  B.  Crenshaw,  who  labored  faithfully  in  word  and  doctrine. 

John  Crenshaw  was  a Friend  minister  of  Richmond  meet- 
ing. He  really  belonged  to  Baltimore  Friends,  but  as  he  was 

25.  Cartland,  Southern  Heroes^  126. 

26.  Weeks,  Southern  Quakers  and  Slavery,  305. 

27.  Ibid..  305. 


38 

cut  off  from  them,  for  the  time  being  he  identified  himself 

with  North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting  whose  members  greatly  ap- 

28 

predated  his  services.  Owing  to  his  acquaintance  and  influ- 
ence with  men  of  authority,  he  was  often  called  upon  to  aid 

29 

Friends  and  Dunkards  who  were  drafted  into  the  southern  army. 
According  to  his  widow,  ”he  finally  gave  up  his  time  almost  ex- 
clusively to  looking  after  the  interests  of  these  people.  He 
labored  by  day  and  by  night,  often  making  long  journeys  some- 
times on  foot,  to  visit  the  Friends  who  were  sick  in  prison,  or 
in  the  army.  Looking  carefully  into  the  merits  of  individual 
cases,  and  being  able  to  present  a clear  case,  the  officials 
came  to  have  great  confidence  in  him,  and  for  this  reason  and 
because  of  their  regard  for  him  as  a Christian  minister,  they 
usually  granted  his  requests.  Besides  the  service  thus  rendered 
his  home  was  frequently  for  weeks  the  home  of  those  whom  he  was 
serving. " 

y/hile  the  matter  was  being  discussed,  one  of  the 
Conrnittee  said  to  the  delegation:  ’^Doubtless  your  people  are 

in  the  Northern  army  fighting  us  and  why  should  you  not  join 
us  in  fighting  them?”  Isham  Cox,  one  of  the  number,  replied  that 
he  was  not  afraid  to  agree  to  fight,  single  handed,  every  true 
Friend  in  the  Northern  Army.^^  He  was  perfectly  safe  in  making 
such  a statement  because  he  knew  that  no  true  Friend  would  be 
fighting  in  any  army.  They  were  against  slavery,  but  they  thought 

that  they  should  not  do  evil  that  good  should  come.  However, 

28.  Gartland.  Southern  Heroes,  347. 

29.  Ibid.,  346. 

30.  Ibid.4.,  128;  similar  account  in  R.  M.  Jones,  Later  Periods 
of  Quak-^rism  II,  741. 


39 

there  were  some  whose  education  against  slavery  was  so  much 

stronger  than  their  teaching  against  war  that  they  entered  the 

31 

service  hut  as  a rule  they  were  disowned  by  their  meetings. 

The  same  delegation  visited  Jefferson  Davis  and  al- 
though he  received  them  with  courtesy,  he  remarked  that  he  re- 
gretted to  learn  that  there  was  within  the  limits  of  the  southern 
Confederacy  a body  of  people  unwilling  not  only  to  fight  but  if 
needful  to  die  in  defense  of  their  country.  Although  Pres- 
ident Davis  and  many  other  southern  officials  were  very  unsym- 
pathetic, a number  of  individual  southerners  felt  quite  differ- 
ently toward  their  peaceful  neighbors.  Among  such  was  Governor 
Jonathai  Worth  of  Dorth  Carolina  who  was  of  Ilantucket  Quaker 
descent.  He  would  gladly  have  excused  those  whom  he  believed  to 

be  sincerely  conscientious  in  their  religious  scruples.  He  was 

32 

ever  glad  to  cooperate  in  any  meritorious  case. 

The  delegation  did  not  secure  their  greatest  object. 

Friends  were  exempted  from  military  service  only  on  the  payment 

33 

of  ,|500  each  into  the  public  treasury.  But  to  Hereus  I.ien- 

den hall's  argument,  perhaps  more  than  any  other  one  thing,  was 

34 

due  the  passage  of  even  such  a provision.  'This  alternative 
caused  a great  deal  of  temptation  to  purchase  freedom  from  suf- 
fering because  of  the  great  deflation  of  Confederate  money.  The 
tax  was  accordingly  not  worth  more  than  a barrel  of  flour  or  the 

price  of  a pair  of  boots.  Even,  then,  however,  there w ere  many 

Gartland,  Southern  HeroeTj  188. 

38.  Ibid. , 145. 

33.  Weeks,  Southern  Quakers  and  Slavery,  305. 

34.  Cartland,  Southern  Heores,  128. 


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►♦■*.  , * ' .1.*  / . . -^  .•'i:,.  ,T.- •-.«', Vf*|ll»,'.  ,4  , vi  . ‘ ; “ V 


'*  » •-  .T  ■“  ' ■'*  • V-  )•  ’ - , 

* • iii'U»-iji-*iiiiM  i»k'^A>^“^‘  •rv’iiil' ."“**'**  w«««»  ■ji;'«^w  ’ 

" syi' 'j&ii'  ''^  ‘ w -'  - . 

-"i'  ' ;,^  . ,:V'i.'.‘iU''  ftiAwit  '»S..’:|i- * 

'swygwwfe^4t^ 


40 


who  were  so  faithful  to  their  conscientious  principles  that 

35 

they  refused  to  purchase  escape  at  so  small  a price.  The 
action  of  the  committee  on  the  proposed  exemption  clause  is 
significant  of  the  wonderful  stand,  especially  of  that  of  the 
Friends  against  W/ar, 

"VVhile  in  accordance  with  the  advice  issued  by  our 
last  Yearly  Meeting,  we  do  pay  all  taxes  imposed  on  us  as  citi- 
zens and  property  holders  r emembering  the  injunction,  tribute 
to  whom  tribute  is  due,  custom  to  whom  custom,  yet,  we  cannot 
conscientiously  pay  this  specific  tax,  it  being  imposed  upon 
us  on  account  of  our  principles,  being  the  price  exacted  of 

us  for  religious  liberty” and  then  they  added  ”yet  do  we 

appreciate  the  good  intentions  of  those  members  of  Congress  who 
had  it  in  their  hearts  to  do  something  for  our  relief;  or  we 
recommend  that  where  parents,  moved  by  sympathy,  or  young  men 
themselves  dreading  the  evils  of  a military  camp  have  availed 
themselves  of  this  law,  that  they  be  treated  in  a tender  man- 
ner. 

The  southern  objector,  then,  still  loyal  to  the  old 
Union,  with  a hatred  of  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  very 
depths  of  his  soul  and  with  real  devotion  to  his  traditional 
principles  of  peace  found  himself  looked  at  askance  by  the  Con- 
federate administration  and  an  object  of  wrath  at  the  hands  of 
the  military  officials  with  whom  he  came  into  contact. 

35.  Gartland,  Southern  Heroes,  141. 

36.  Weeks,  S ou th e'rn~~Yua ke r s and  Slavery,  306. 


’'i 


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41 


CHAPTER  V 

INDIVIDUAL  CASES  IN  THE  NORTH 

The  records  of  individual  cases  of  suffering  among 
conscientious  objectors  in  the  north  are  very  meagre  in  compar- 
ison with  those  of  conscientious  objectors  whose  homes  fell 
within  the  Confederate  lines.  I’his  difference  as  already  cited 
was  without  any  doubt  due  to  the  general  attitude  of  leniency 
on  the  part  of  the  northern  administration.  It  is  an  interest- 
ing observation  that  so  far  as  the  writer  has  been  able  to  find 
no  cases  of  conscientious  objectors  ever  reached  the  United 
State  Supreme  Court. 

Most  of  the  cases  on  record  in  the  north  seem  to  have 
come  from  the  New  England  states.  Henry  D,  Swift ^ of  NewEng- 
land  Yearly  Meeting  was  drafted  and  refused  to  pay  for  his  ex- 
emption. He  was  sent  from  his  home  in  South  Dedham,  Itossachu- 
setts  to  a military  camp  at  Concord  in  the  same  state.  He  firm- 
ly refused  to  take  any  part  in  the  military  drill  so  he  was  put 
in  the  guard-house  for  disobedience.  He  was  then  sent  to  a 
military  camp  on  Long  Island,  There  he  performed  voluntary  ser- 
vice in  the  hospital,  declining  all  remuneration  for  it,  but 
he  still  persisted  in  refusing  to  obey  military  orders.  He  was 
^bucked  down”,  a very  cruel  method  of  treatment,  and  finally 
taken  to  the  guard-house  and  made  to  witness  the  exeuction  of  a 

man.  He  himself  was  threatened  with  death.  He  was  tried  by 
R.  M,  Jones.  Later  Periods  of  Quakerism  II.  755. 


'■  V*  ^ ■ ■* 


■f'»  yji)\m  [ 


i?.l  '♦ 


■y;  ”W-iT.jT  ■■  ■■  ^ 

■ ’v"^l?.^:-'uHt)^■, 

E!'  ••  ■■fcS.'*»i’;‘'’  ■■  -s  ii<*ii 'l«WtV^tfW'>«.  ' 

1“'  ■ m ' mm\ 


i'T 


F-yr^  -'r-i^ 


..:iiV.f  i.jJU'Si  ■■»  ,>;i"»-  .$!  >_■  - ,®  i'-ii?  ■> 

Vi  * • '*. *■  ^Sv-“ ■ ■ ■^v*’  91-'^. 

i ^*J|'  * ^ I ' -■*'^ 

.;■  " 0 r'|^p5\ ■ -l^ 

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^'. ;;  '■"'  '"  ;pp^.'  , ■ ■"■  ■ ,.,  ^ , -^ 

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42 


court-martial  and  sentenced  to  be  shot,  but  on  the  intercession 

of  New  England  Friends  who  put  the  facts  before  President 

Lincoln,  he  was  ’’paroled  until  called  for.” 

Some  of  those  who  were  drafted  and  refused  to  serve 

entirely  escaped  any  harsh  treatment.  Such  was  the  case  of 

William  Burgess,  a member  of  Miami  M.  M.  in  Ohio,  who  was 

drafted  while  attending  school  at  Union  Springs,  New  York  on  the 

24th  of  July  1863.  He  informed  the  enrolment  officers  of  his 

conscientious  scruples  against  bearing  arms.  He  was  treated  by 

them  with  all  respect  and  after  sixteen  days  was  "paroled  until 
2 

called  for”.  Joseph  3.  Elkinton  of  Philadelphia  took  the  same 

course  of  informing  the  officers  of  his  nrinciples  but  he  too 

3 

was  never  called  for. 

A more  persistent  case  presented  itself  in  Joseph 
Gr.  Miller  of  River  Head,  Long  Island  who  was  drafted  In  the 
9th  month  of  1863,  and  was  required  to  apnear  at  Jamaica,  Long 
Island.  A pass  was  forwarded  to  him  to  use  on  the  railroad,  but 
he  did  not  feel  at  liberty  to  use  it  so  he  paid  his  own  fare. 

He  arrived  at  the  place  on  the  morning  of  the  day  appointed  and 
was  kept  all  day  near  the  door  of  the  Court  House.  On  the 
next  afternoon  he  was  told  that  he  must  appear  within  nine  days 
to  be  enrolled  as  a soldier  or  pay  the  commutation  tax  of  three 
hundred  dolla^.  He  promised  to  be  there  at  the  time  appointed 
but  explained  that  he  could  not  pay  a money  equivalent  or  per- 

mitany  one  else  to  do  so  for  him.  He  was  true  to  his  promise 

2.  R.  M.  J;;,nes,  iater  Periods  of  Quakerism.  TT,  736. 

3.  Ibid., 756. 


43 


to  report  at  the  appointed  time  but  was  told  as  some  other 
Friends  had  paid  the  fine  that  he  was  acting  wilfully  in  his 
refusal  to  do  so.  He  took  the  Friends*  Book  of  Discipline  and 
pointed  out  the  sections  concerning  military  service  and  the 
payment  of  money  in  lieu  of  it.  He  was  next  taken  to  a house 
in  the  village  where  a soldier* s uniform  was  put  upon  him  with- 
out his  resistance.  He  was  then  taken  before  a military  board 
in  an  adjoining  room  where  he  was  confronted  by  a man  who  had 
been  active  in  the  court  room,  This  gentleman  ventured  the 
remark  that  he  thought  it  was  the  duty  of  every  Christian  to 
support  the  government,  Joseph* s reply  to  the  question,  ”What 
would  become  of  the  government  and  of  us>  if  we  did  not  fight” 
seemed  to  have  such  an  effect  upon  him  that  when  Joseph  was 
ready  to  depart,  he  took  his  hand  and  said,  ”If  we  could  only 
feel  as  you  do  what  a happy  people  we  should  be.  Hold  fast  to 
your  trust  in  God  and  all  will  be  well,”  He  then  gave  our 
Friend  his  address  and  requested  that  he  should  write  and  let 
him  know  how  he  fared. 

Miller  was  next  taken  to  the  camp  on  Rickers  Island 
without  an  overcoat  because  he  would  not  wear  a military  one, 
and  he  was  not  permitted  to  take  his  own.  He  possessed  only 
one  blanket  so  that  he  was  forced  to  lie  on  the  damp  ground. 

As  a result  he  contracted  a severe  cold  which  caused  him  much 
suffering  in  addition  to  the  treatment  he  received  from  officers 
to  whom  he  did  not  pay  the  usual  military  civility.  Tnen  they 
learned  that  he  was  a Friend  refusing  to  bear  arms  because  of 


Ai‘  '1  ■ 


W'\y'  ' *" 


_ ■ 


^ li 2'± - /4i  M .4 5 'i .4, >'  ^■' ■ V"  •' ’i' 

‘.^.J-  . . . m:..  ■ . ,/ . ’ ■ '^ 


al>a 

91  :'*? 


f.'ljtd'fX'.  M‘Wlk  ' • 7^  UitX  fifJ  >"it(  k<'/<  : 

: * J^V.T..  ?.  •';i  ' Vr  ' ;-  , „ • "'■  ...  ,>. 

'■  »■..  j.i»  jf*  J^  ii;  ij-,.*‘f’iff2M».  *<•-'■  .ft.‘i’.4<!««iBi*-':^,:J#fe.  Ab-aiX^^ 

«».•?..#’.  ,->  , '■■;*■  ' ^ .'riDrta  ,"fi 

’ i. . ^ 1 '»  1 , . ' . .-ll.-k  • if  •'  • , * ■•  - ' ^ L *'  ! ■ ^ ' '' 


f .1-  ' ,V%' 1':  'Vi'.’  ' ^ 


\ Xi'Yf  s . 

1^  i'r  ' ■'  '>?■ 


I 


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rfi-'T.  ■;•  I.-  .)■’  yr)i.i  :tia  ^ I WPtM-J'  Ml  ''  ' 

■-Tiia®"  .i>.i  . '7ilH 


V*  ::>«/<:• 


I ■ 4>  ^ . t '^  ■ i V / ^ '*  f j!  V r *f'K‘'*V*  ) **^18 

E ■ '.r’ '» '■,  •■  *'  '"■'  ’ ■ > ■'  -,  ••  ■(.'■'  ■ ‘ ''  ' " ^'"  ■* 

* ' ^l|  ' '^ ' ' \-  ^ ^ \ ' / ' • 

^‘f ' ■■  ••’flW  . -v.«'iv'v  % • i,  • h '. ■''  " »-a 1 ’ i 

ij  !,*'JatV'.'.:,  '■'  I . /,  ;,‘"  S».“  •' ' • ,v'^'  ''iA-  '•  '4-;'  .>',,•  ,*  "' >' 

I _ ■**•'  '■  , kt.'JOf*  y -v  R .r;|J  'ifJaJ  j 


44 


conscientious  scruples,  their  attitude  toward  him  changed. 

A-gout  three  weeks  later  he  was  taken  to  Grovemors  Island,  Be- 
fore much  time  passed  he  was  again  allowed  to  resume  his  own 
clothes  and  was  required  to  do  nothing  a gainst  his  nr incinles. 

4 

When  the  eleventh  day  of  the  eleventh  month  came  he  was  paroled. 
By  his  own  testimony  he  did  not  consider  his  sufferings  as  a 
loss  but  rather  that  his  faith  had  been  increased  "in  the  suf- 
ficiency of  that  Power  which  would  enable  all  who  submitted  to 
its  influence  to  experience  themselves  the  fulfilment  of  the 
prophetic  declaration  ’and  the  Lord  shall  judge  among  many 
people  and  rebuke  strong  nations  and  they  shall  beat  their 
swords  into  plough  shares  and  their  spears  into  pruning  hooks. 
Nation  shall  not  lift  up  sword  against  nation,  neither  shall 
they  learn  war  any  more.* '^5 

Luring  the  discussion  in  the  Senate  on  the  amendment 
to  the  Enrolment  Act  in  January  of  1864,  Mx,  Charles  Sumner 
of  Massachusetts  reported  a communication  from  his  Governor  ad- 
dressed to  the  Secretary  of  War  concerning  a case  which  had  been 
called  to  his  attention.  The  communication  is  in  part  as  fol- 
lows.^ 

’’The  following  facts  in  relation  to  the  young  man 
we  have  from  such  authority  as  leaves  us  no  doubt  of  their  sub- 
stantial correctness.  He  has  from  boyhood  been  a non-resistant, 
and  regarded  all  war  as  criminal,  and  has  entirely  abstained 

from  voting  as  a religious  duty.  Since  then,  he  has  done 

4.  R.  M.  Jones,  Later  Periods  of  Quakerism  II,  731. 

5.  Ibid.,  731-2. 

6.  Cong.  Globe,  38  Gong.,  1 Sess.,  Pt,  I,  255, 


r^  ■ ^fm:^i'-'  -r.- 


" "'* ' ' ■ \ " ^* ' '■ ' ' '• ' ^^  , ■"'v.''^ 

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'fej^.ij.  ,•),•_  V(4i4#  'it;  et ;*l*‘i;i;j(; 

' ■ -J  ';i..'  t?I', 


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'!!  , '♦'*4 '••  ••«  W 0r~ si(- itwt I 

l«jt''^v;  at'-?  .f-  J i >f-  ' 7-£^::  v-»».  ^ 

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-i2  ■ '.  i ■ 


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SLA'.. 


45 


everything  in  his  power  to  aid  the  Government  against  the  as- 
saults of  the  slaveholders.  Drafted  in  October  last,  the  au- 
thorities of  the  camp  on  Long  Island  appreciated  his  religious 
scruples  against  hearing  arms,  and  treated  him  with  kindness 
and  respect.  But  in  Virginia  the  officer  in  charge,  a Ifejor 
Cook,  of  Gloucester,  llassachusetts  had  endeavored  to  force  him 
to  yield  his  conscientious  convictions.  He  has  been  tied  up  in 
the  woods  with  mules,  suspended  by  his  hands  after  the  manner 
of  slaves,  until  he  could  hardly  stand  alone,  deprived  of  shel- 
ter, food,  and  finally  put  in  the  guard-house  where  he  has  been 
for  six  or  seven  weeks.  All  this  the  soldier  has  borne  with 
great  courage  and  patience.  His  health  is  seriously  impaired 
by  such  exposure  and  severity.”  The  communication  concludes 

with  a plea  for  the  discharge  of  the  young  man  who  \ms  suffer- 

7 

ing  for  adherence  to  his  religious  convictions. 

Perhaps  the  best  known  ease  of  suffering  among  the 

8 

northern  objectors  was  that  of  Gyrus  Pringle  of  Charlotte,  Ver- 

9 

mont.  He  was  drafted  in  Burlington,  Vermont  on  July  13,  1863 

in  company  with  William  Bindley  Dean  and  Bindley  M.  Macomber. 

10 

Dean,  however,  was  rejected  upon  examination  of  the  Surgeon. 

They  were  urged  by  acqua intances  to  pay  commutation  money,  but 
in  the  words  of  Pringle  they  felt  they  could  not  do  this: 

7.  Gong.  Glob el  38  Cong.,  1 Sess.,  Ftl  Tj  255. 

8.  Pringle,  Record  of  a_  Quaker  Conscience ; similar  accounts  in 
R.  M.  Jones,  Ba ter  Periods  of  Quakerism  II,  735;  article 
in  Atlantic  Monthly"  Peb. , 191'S’^i  ”The  United  States  Versus 
Pringle”. 

9.  Pringle,  Record  of  a Quaker  Conscience,  23. 

10.  Ibid. , 24. 


1 


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46 


”VVe  confess  a higher  duty  than  that  to  country;  and, 
asking  no  military  protection  of  our  Government  and  grateful 
for  none,  deny  any  obligation  to  support  so  unla\A/ful  a system, 
as  we  hold  a war  to  be  even  when  waged  in  opposition  to  an  evil 
and  oppressive  power  and  ostensibly  in  defense  of  liberty,  vir- 
tue, and  free  institutions;  and,  though  touched  by  the  kind 
interest  of  friends,  we  could  not  relieve  their  distress  by  a 
means  we  held  even  more  sinful  than  that  of  serving  ourselves, 
as  by  supplying  money  to  hire  a substitute  we  would  not  only 

be  responsible  for  the  result,  but  be  agents  in  bringing 

n 

others  into  evil.” 

In  the  case  of  Pringle  a well-to-do  uncle  offered  to 

pay  the  price  of  a substitute  for  him  but  the  conscience  of  the 

12 

Quaker  could  not  permit  him  to  allOY;/  it. 

With  the  rest  of  the  conscripts  of  that  district  they 
were  taken  to  Brattleboro  where  Macomber  and  Pringle  addressed 
a letter  to  Governor  Holbrook  in  which  they  set  forth  that  they 
could  not  violate  their  religious  convictions  either  by  comply- 
ing with  military  requisitions  or  by  the  equivalents  of  furnish- 

13 

ing  a substitute  or  the  payment  of  commutation  money.  On  the 
27th  of  the  month  they  were  sent  to  Boston  to  a military  camp 

_ 14 

on  Long  Island,  Boston  harbor.  Upon  their  refusal  to  do  fa- 
tigue duty_there  they  were  put  in  the  guard  house.  Various 

means  were  used  to  persuade  them  but  they  remained  firm.  A 

11.  Pringle,  Record  of  a Quaker  Conscience^  2^, 

12.  Atlantic  Monthly,  Peb.  1913.  Aytio-l-e  -ea-  ”The  United  States 
Versus  Pringle”,  145. 

13.  Pringle,  Record  of  a Quaker  Conscience, 34-5. 

14.  Ibid.,  37. 


1 ■■'■■• '■■ 
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■'  >■'  ■'•.■'■  ':■■'  "tr'’ 

" •.•k-*'?-  n/ r.c’tc;  ^1.  '9.<^,;.^  ' 

^Sli  "^•■i..->;  v'4Vi  •/■^  ■ •.’  -.  ■ ,”  / ’.*V  ' * ;’; 

V '■',.  ,1  i \ ■ •-  "•'  ’.  ' , ' ■ S '.  ,■  I ./hs  - JJ!>. 

V V *.-•  ct 

' ul'  . * ' ..■■'m  . .,  , ^ . >'•»  ■ I.'  V,  , '<■  '<.4»  , .'i  . 


:' ’'■  'jmU‘  ■r*^ti''iff^.t' i ct * . -V 

^;i  „'  -;v  ' „ -r^.  /•  'iT  ; ' '^lI  .,,  ■ '' 

'.''4u  ■ ^'\.j 

} :.^/- ;o4f;'  .f oi»4^u/ii  • •;» • ■»  ' ' «jf/‘'  7> 

.<iwi»»T  <♦  ■*»^i  ' ■ ij  ■■  1^  ■»«  ^ji*WiP  ifr'yiiypr 

■ f ',/.,  ■ ' 

'^liMiin,;'^  ■.•  4ts3!?.  <yi- 

■e;ii 


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■f"  'i-F'-tt  ::|ijf’; 


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48 


remain  quiet  and  acquiesce.  They  did  consent  and  were  assigned 

to  Douglas  hospital  in  Washington.  There  were  five  of  them  there 

20 

and  they  enjoyed  pleasant  quarters,  hut  they  were  constantly 
oppressed  hy  a sense  of  guilt.  It  was  about  this  time  that 
Isaac  Newton,  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  went  to  see  the  Pres- 
ident in  their  behalf.  Newton  gave  him  a letter  from  one  of  the 
Friends  in  New  York.  After  perusing  it,  Lincoln  said  to  Newton: 

1 want  you  to  go  and  tell  Stanton  that  it  is  my  wish  that 

21 

all  those  young  men  he  sent  home  at  once.”  The  Secretary 

then  consented,  the  order  was  given  and  they  were  released  on 

22 

indefinite  parole. 

The  northern  objectors  have  left  few  records  of  cases 
of  suffering  behind  them.  Such  as  are  recorded  are  so  much 
more  mild  than  the  sufferings  of  those  south  of  Ivlason  and  Dixon’s 
line  that  their  interest  is  almost  eclipsed  by  those  of  their 
southern  brethren. 


20.  Pringle,  Record  of  a Quaker  Conscience,  84. 

21.  Ibid.,  91-^ 

22.  Ibid.,  92;  and  R.  M.  Jones,  Later  Periods  of  Quakerism  II, 
735. 


' V j 


■*  \ 


49 


CHAPTER  VI 

INDIVIDUAL  GASES  IN  THE  SOUTH 

The  aspect  for  the  conscientious  objectors  in  the 

south  was  a serious  one.  Erom  a military  viewpoint,  the  crisis 

was  more  acute  in  the  south.  There  also  the  loyalty  of  the 

Friends  to  the  Quaker  testimony  was  more  nearly  unbroken,  a 

fact  which  mayaccount  for  their  greater  s uffering. ^ Three 

2 

groups  of  cases  presented  themselves: 

1.  Those  suffering  previous  to  the  passage  of  the  Ex- 
emption Act,  or  under  irregular  proceedings. 

2.  Gases  of  newly-convinced  members. 

3.  Gases  of  those  who  could  not  conscientiously  pay 
the  exemption  tax. 

The  cases  of  suffering  previous  to  exemption  were  more  numerous 

but  their  sufferings  were  not  so  great.  They  consisted  chiefly 

of  rude  arrests,  short  but  uncertain  imprisonments,  and  violent 

threatenings.  In  a few  cases  men  were  hung  up  by  the  thumbs  for 
3 

several  hours.  It  was  upon  those  who  were  newly  convinced  mem- 
bers that  the  heaviest  persecutions  fell.  Not  only  those  who 
could  not  pay  the  exemption  tax  suffered,  but  many  were  taken  to 
the  army  and  abused  severely  after  they  had  paid  the  tax  in  all 

4 

good  faith  and  received  exemption  papers  from  the  war  department. 
Stephen  Hobson  was  one  of  those  who  had  paid  the  five  hundred 

1.  R.  M.  Jgnes,  Later  Periods  of  Quakerism  II,  741. 

2.  Boyle,  Account  of  Suffering's,  8. 

3.  Ibid>.  8. 

4.  Gartland,  Southern  Heroes,  224. 


I 


I > 


( 


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L ( 

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l‘-/r 


'.'  ; ^'.-U'C'CH  .'  btUt 


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• r -'f-r. 


i'  cr  . 


50 


dollar  exemption  fee.  He  was  arrested  on  his  way  west  and  sent 
hack  to  a camp  near  Drury’s  Bluff  in  Virginia.  He  was  soon  re- 
leased from  there  hut  not  until  after  months  of  trial,  presumah- 

5 

ly  on  account  of  having  had  a broken  arm  and  thigh. 

A large  number  of  Friends  took  ’’bushwhacking”  as  a 
method  of  evading  s ervice. ^ They  left  their  homes  and  lived  in 
the  best  way  possible  out  in  the  woods  or  the  caves.  Their  food 
consisted  of  whatever  they  could  find  about  them  or  was  supplied 
by  their  friends  or  family  who  often  took  no  snail  risk  in  at- 
tempting to  provide  for  their  needs.  The  bushwhackers  were  often 
hunted  for  by  draft  officers  and  their  families  subjected  to 
much  retaliation  in  an  effort  to  force  infer  iiation  from  them. 

Such  was  the  case  of  Yancey  Cox  of  Holly  Springs,  North  Carolina, 
a young  man  of  seventeen  years.  He  was  forced  into  the  service, 
but  he  refused  to  wear  military  clothes  or  carry  a gun.  After 
he  had  endured  much  suffering  he  made  his  escape  with  twenty- 
seven  others  and  hid  in  a dense  wood  along  Deep  River  which  was 
not  far  from  their  own  homes.  They  lived  there  for  about  a year, 
slept  in  piles  of  leaves  for  covering  and  endured  many  other  hard 
ships.  In  the  meantime  Yancey  Cox’s  parents  were  tortured  in 
order  to  force  from  them  the  knowledge  of  their  son's  hiding- 
place,  but  they  remained  firm  in  their  refusal  to  divulge  it. 

Cox  managed  to  escape  detection  until  Lee's  surrender  brought 
7 

him  freedom. 

J.  J.  Allen  avoided  his  pursuers  in  the  woods  for  an 

even  longer  period  of  twenty-two  months.  His  parents  were 

5.  Cartland,  Southern  Heroes, 

6.  E.  M.  Jones'^  Later  Periods  of  Quakerism  II,  743. 

7.  Ibid.,  743. 


m ' 


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M piTfet:  ■ Fft.  ..  t P'lt^  .#■•  .M-'; 

fti'  ■•■•"\  ■"'/■■'^iv  ■■  ■■ .:  %i 

-oj  tu^>'>  • jl.'' M^V,' ^/'i.|t'-iT  'iit.  fe  *'1|  I 

'^'  V*'*v.'?2i  ■'  " ''  ' ' ' **^^*^.-iM'  ' ■ '#31  ' " ■ ■Pj^'lp/; 

. ■’'  , : ' 1 (.  ‘1  ;<•'  Tr^tS,  .;  •3<^4  r^ 

— ' - .. 

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- *-'  004 


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BE'  ifj  • » I - - ‘ - in-  %H : : h\jif  c.i^Sc  1 5‘*  . 

!T  ■ '■  ’;^ •;  *'v  A’.-.v  ' 


t:' 


f’  ^niUytO'js'r  .»*«•!?!  /iiXvIt  liOo'jj^T  lo  ■CT‘'8^ 

I y.  ' ■■■■  '■■%»  " ■ ’./'  '■'■SB  ■ 


, ■ — , ■ .IJ  ,'  , - ' 4 ■ V 

\..iTi»c  l.l  Ift-  ' 

'**  ■'  ' *'  ‘!^  '..  ‘-iiri»M»»ii  -I  ■■fti. 


y.-'*'  ■ ’ • -V . . ..  .•  . ‘ 


TV-*  ifi.  ^r.  A.  s^roli  6qoni, ,^fJL•-^ ' / <au4^y 

KIG|  ' ^^:  ■ ':^  • ■'■'l''^'  . . ' « ^ ^ JSM 


)- 


f rfc.H  ■'  -1^ ..  # ■■■■ij.t^iBi^.’'  •■*.  ■^.fi'x'jf'rrorf'  -z^t 

- ,'i*  V '■■'-* > • ' • ^‘'  I »'  >S‘''“"'>'  :'-•■>  -'  V . ' , . - 

•:'"^'‘r — 


. *''  ■.  w'lia  *.  y i#'^l^^^i ■ , '■  TfiL •* -'.•: ^ -i.. -av r' ^ '*•''•  -v^‘»;  ..;<  ■••*.‘ 


51 

likewise  tortured  for  their  refusal  to  make  known  his  hiding 
place.  .fhen  he  discovered  that  they  w ere  suffering  on  his  ac- 
count he  surrendered  to  officers  and  was  taken  to  Raleigh  where 
they  endeavored  to  compel  military  obedience  from  him.  However, 

he  was  able  to  make  his  escape  from  the  camp  and  succeeded  in 

8 

getting  away  to  Indiana.  In  the  search  for  conscripts,  thousands 

of  which  were  hidden  in  the  woods,  the  Friends  and  other  sects 

/ 

were  endangered  and  looked  upon  with  much  suspicion..  Ivlany  were 
sadly  mistreated  because  of  their  failure  to  carry  their  papers 
with  them. 

In  the  spring  of  1865  about  forty  men  in  search  of 
conscripts  came  to  a mill  belonging  to  Joseph  Dixson  of  Cane 
Creek  , Chatham  County,  Horth  Carolina.  The  miller  was  first  hung 
up  by  a rope  three  times  to  make  him  betray  his  sons  whom  they 
suspected  of  being  hidden.  When  he  heard  the  screams  of  the 
miller's  wife  and  children,  J.  D.  went  out  to  the  crowd.  The 
same  information  was  demanded  of  him  but  he  claimed  entire  ig- 
norance of  their  retreat.  He  was  immediately  seized  and  carried 
into  a barn  where  he  was  mounted  upon  a box.  A rope  was  put 
around  his  neck  and  thrown  over  a beam.  Tightening  the  rope  they 
said,  "You  are  a Quaker  and  your  people  by  refusing  to  fight  and 
keeping  so  many  out  of  the  army,  have  caused  the  defeat  of  the 
South,"  and  adding,  that  if  he  had  any  prayers  to  offer,  he  must 
be  quick  as  he  had  only  five  minutes  to  live.  J.  D.  replied  that 
he  was  innocent  and  could  adopt  the  language  "Father,  forgive 

them,  they  know  not  what  they  do."  They  next  said  they  would 
8.  R.  M.  Jones,  Later  Periods  of  Quakerism,  II,  74^^744. 


S;oS+, 


1 v; 


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;«,tn5i,  "v  !;'  V ,'  ; 

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52 

not  hang  him  just  then,  but  proceeded  to  rob  him.  I'hey  ordered 

him  to  get  under  a horse-trough,  meantime  threatening  to  shoot 

him  if  he  looked  up.  While  he  lay  there  he  could  hear  them 

as  they  hung  up  the  miller  three  different  times,  till  the  sound 

of  strangling  began,  -finally  after  they  had  forced  a promise 

from  the  miller  to  find  his  sons,  they  left,  ^ivith  a command  to 

J.  D.  to  lie  still  till  they  came  back  with  others  to  hang.  They 

did  not  bother  to  come  back,  but  they  did  go  on  to  one  of  the 

Methodist  neighbors  \i8hom  they  hung  until  unconscious  and  then 

left  him  in  that  state.  On  the  next  night  the  same  searchers 

9 

found  a missing  conscript  whom  the^/  hung  until  dead. 

As  has  been  s tated  the  most  severe  suffering  was  exper- 
ienced by  those  who  were  newly  convinced  members.  This  fact 
did  not  daunt  the  loyalty  of  new  converts.  It  was  estimated  that 
the  loyalty  of  Friends  to  their  testimony  against  war  resulted 

in  an  actual  increase  in  membership  in  the  South, as  well  as 
1 1 

in  the  North.  It  was  said  that  no  less  than  six  hundred  ner- 

12 

sons  were  received  into  membership  during  the  period  of  the  war. 

Seth  W.  Loflin  had  been  a member  of  the  Society  of 
Friends  but  a short  time  when  he  was  arrested  as  a conscript  and 
taken  to  a camp  near  Petersburg,  Virginia.  He  was  ordered  to 

take  arms  which  he  promptly  refused  to  do  because  he  said  he  was 

W,  Boyle,  Account  of  Sufferings'  9-10. 

Cartland,  Seuthern  Heroes.  227-8. 

10.  Boyle,  Account  of  Sufferings,  11;  and  Amer.  Church  Hist.  Series 
ZII,  287. 

11.  Official  Records' . 7/ar  of  Rebellion.  Letter  of  Richard  I.  Dodge 
to  Col,  Jas.  B.  Fry,  Series  III,  IV,  994. 

12.  Boyle,  Account  of  Sufferings.  11;  and  R.  M.  Jones,  Later  Per- 
iods of  Quakerism  II,  747, 


53 


a Christian  and  oould  not  fight.  The  officers  in  charge  seemed 
to  think  that  if  severe  means  were  used  to  compel  obedience  he 
would  yield  his  conscientious  scruples. 

They  first  kept  him  without  sleep  for  thirty-six  hours 
and  stationed  a soldier  near  by  to  pierce  him  with  a bayonet 
if  he  should  fall  asleep.  When  this  means  availed  them  nothing 
they  bucked  him  down  for  three  hours  each  day,  and  then  hung  him 
up  by  the  thumbs  for  an  hour  and  a half  daily  for  a week.  Th^ 
qgain  offered  him  a gun  which  he  as  promptly  refused  once  more. 
Threats,  abuse,  and  persecution  were  used  to  no  end  so  in  anger 
the  Colonel  ordered  him  to  be  court-martialed.  He  was  sentenced 
to  be  shot.  Preparations  were  made  for  his  execution,  and  the 
soldiers  detailed  for  it.  Cuns,  six  loaded  with  bullets  and 
six  without,  were  given  to  twelve  chosen  men.  Before  the  sen- 
tence was  executed  Loflin  asked  for  a moment  for  prayer.  Instead 
of  praying  for  himself,  he  prayed  for  his  persecutors;  '^Father, 
forgive  them  for  they  know  not  what  they  do.”  Such  was  the  ef- 
fect unon  the  men  that  each  of  them  lowered  his  gun  and  declared 
that  he  could  not  shoot  such  a man.  The  scene  had  a touching 
effect  upon  the  offiC'^rs  also  and  the  sentence  was  revoked.  He 
was  then  taken  to  prison  where  he  suffered  many  trials.  He  was 
finally  sent  to  'Windsor  Hospital  at  Richmond,  Virginia.  There 

he  was  taken  seriously  ill  and  after  a long  illness  he  died.  Af- 

13 

ter  his  death  one  of  the  officers  wrote  to  his  wife. 

"It  is  my  painful  daty  to  inform  you  that  Seth  V/. 

Loflin  died  at  Windsor  Hospital  at  Richmond,  on  the  8th  of 
13.  Gartland,  Southern  'Heroes,  S^-813;  and  R.  LI.  Jones,  iiater 

Periods  of  Quakerism  II,  751;  Boyle,  Account  of  Suffering,  17 


a I,-  >■  ’ ‘ »‘.i'  '•■'  ■■''■■  ^ (I  ''^'’  "■  't-A'  A’ 

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54 


Deoember,  1864.  He  died  as  he  had  lived,  a true,  humble  and 

devoted  Christian,  true  to  his  faith  and  religion We  pitied 

him  and  sympathized  mith  him but  he  is  rewarded  for  his  fideli 

ty,  and  is  at  rest." 

Jesse  Buckner,  of  Chatham  County,  North  Carolina, 
was  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  a Baptist  and  a colonel  in  the 
militia. He  had  never  given  much  thought  to  the  principles 
of  peace  and  in  his  position  did  much  to  support  the  war.  Early 
in  the  war  he  was  engaged  in  raising  volunteer  companies  and 
was  surprised  to  find  that  no  Friends  would  volunteer  or  lend  any 
support  to  military  service.  Their  refusal  to  take  part  led  him 
to  s tudy  their  doctrines  and  he  came  to  sympathize  with  them  to 
such  an  extent  that  he  hesitated  to  require  his  Company  Captains 
to  enrol  them.  His  clianging  attitude  no  doubt  aroused  some  op- 
position among  others.  In  the  fall  of  1861  he  resigned  his  com- 
mission and  was  succeeded  in  office  by  another  man. 

On  a dark  night  not  long  after  he  started  out  for  a 
political  meeting  but  lost  his  way  through  a wooded  section. 
Finally,  in  his  distress  he  reached  the  public  road  and  the  steps 
of  a building  which  proved  to  be  the  Friend^’  Meeting  House.  He 
entered  and  sat  alone  in  the  darkness.  As  he  meditated  there  up- 
on the  principles  of  the  Friends  and  the  awfulness  of  war,  it 
seemed_-to  him  that  it  was  his  duty  to  become  a member  of  the 
Friends,  but  he  delayed  in  doing  so  for  a time. 

14.  Cartland.  Southern  H!eroes,  146-150;  Boyle,  Account  of  Suffer- 
ings,  13-14;  E.  M.  Jones,  Later  Periods  of  Quakerism  II, 
747-48. 


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55 

On  the  6th  of  Third  Month,  1862  he  was  drafted.  He 
decided  not  to  fight  so  he  left  his  home  and  lived  as  test  he 
could  in  caves,  woods,  and  bushes.  After  five  months  of  such 
a life  he  returned  home  and  for  a time  was  unmolested.  He 
was  admitted  into  membership  with  Spring  Meeting  in  the  First 
Month  of  1863,  The  law  had  been  passed  granting  exemption  to 
Friends  upon  payment  of  $500  which  he  promptly  paid  and  received 
his  exemption  papers.  His  presence  among  his  neighbors  aroused 
their  jealousy  and  enmity  with  the  result  that  his  exemption 
papers  were  declared  void  by  a sub-officer.  He  was  arrested 
and  sent  to  Gamp  Holmes,  near  Raleigh,  and  then  to  k*7ilmington 
where  for  about  four  weeks  he  endured  much  abuse.  Friends  ex- 
erted every  effort  to  secure  his  release  and  s ent  petitions 
to  the  authorities  on  his  behalf.  Tnen  this  method  seemed  hope- 
less he  concluded  to  escape.  He  soon  did  so,  and  undertook  the 
difficult  journey  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles  to  his 
home.  He  endured  much  exposure,  hunger,  weariness  and  anxiety 
but  he  at  last  reached  home,  though  foot-sore  and  exhausted. 

He  enjoyed  only  one  night  of  rest  with  his  family  until  the 
next  morning,  when  the  ’’home-guard”  who  had  seen  him  came  to  ar- 
rest him.  He  was  taken  back  to  WilijQington  again  where  he  suf- 
fered even  more  cruel  treatment.  He  became  more  resigned  to 
his  fate  and  meekly  accepted  the  abuse  offered  to  him.  He  was 
soon  taken  very  ill  which  led  to  his  discharge.  Upon  his  re- 
covery he  was  once  more  ordered  to  camp  and  put  in  jail  for  a 
week.  He  was  passed  on  from  camp  to  camp,  but  in  each  place  he 
bore  his  testimony  amid  sneers  and  taunts  and  cruel  threats, 


iliC  fHiMM?* 


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56 


times  he  was  treated  more  kindly  and  was  permitted  to  do  such 
work  as  he  could  conscientiously  perform.  He  was  finally  re- 
leased by  the  surrender  of  Johnson's  army,  a fter  suffering,  for 

three  years,  much  peril  and  hardness  and  for  the  last  year  almost 

15 

constant  persecution. 

'^J.  M.  J.,  A.  J.,  and  D.  J. , were  three  brothers,  who 
joined  Friends  after  the  passage  of  the  Exemption  Act.  After 
their  names  were  placed  upon  the  list  of  conscripts  in  1863, 
they  still  remained  quietly  at  home,  not  even  hiding  in  the  woods. 
Their  protest  against  bearing  arms  was  unheeded,  and  they  were 
arrested  and  sent  on  to  the  army  at  Orange  Court  House,  Virginia. 
There  they  were  ordered  into  ranks  but  on  refusing  to  obey, 

J.  M.  J,  was  knocked  down  with  a gun  and  a long  gash  cut  in  his 
head.  On  attempting  to  rise,  the  blow  was  repeated,  this  ti ae 
nearly  cutting  off  a portion  of  nis  ear.  This  was  done  a third 
time,  and  he  was  then  sent  to  prison.  His  brother  A.  was  at 
the  same  time  undergoing  his  trial,  being  pierced  with  a bayonet 
to  the  depth  of  nearly  an  inch.  -L'he  third  brother  though  severe- 
ly tried,  suffered  less  in  person.  They  w ere  soon  after  sent  to 
the  Hapid  Ann  to  General  Scale's  command  where  new  trials  awaited 
them.  The  American  officers  finding  all  their  efforts  to  fail 
in  subduing  them,  turned  them  over  to  a German  officer,  who  boast- 
ed that  he  could  make  soldiers  of  them.  Various  punishments  and 

abusive,  threatening  language  were  used  in  vain.  He  then  ordered 

15.  Cartland,  Southern  Heroes.  146-150;  and  Hoyle,  Account  of 
Sufferings,  13-14;  H.  M.  Jones,  Later  Periods  of  Quakerism, 
747-748. 


-K,, 


t: 


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/ *“  .•’  • I '♦•  ' i f'v'  :\i  / *'^./"  ‘%7  V- , 'Jtt  *v*'’.'“  ' *'  ,'%  ‘i 

MP  * '*''  * ■ '■  ■ i<n'><jHf»ri  ■»>**'  I it*j  nr  t — i tr  iiti«  i^‘  i im  i-  ■iili  tiii  m i ■!■  ■ i*  *fl  n ^ i i i — rfiAMia  i i*  i i . 


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57 


them  to  he  kept  in  close  confinement  for  three  days  and  nights, 
without  food  or  drink,  making  it  a court-martial  offense  for 
any  one  to  relieve  them.  A j^^ntucky  soldier  in  the  darkness  of 
the  night  nohly  risked  his  safety  and  passed  in  to  them  a little 
water  to  their  great  relief.  The  end  of  this  trial  found  them 
still  unwavering  . They  were  then  all  bucked  down  for  three  or 
four  hours.  This  cruel  punishment,  following  so  closely  upon  the 
others  proved  too  much  for  the  mind  of  the  youngest,  which  became 
for  a ti  le  deranged.  He  ■®{as  allowed  medical  treatment  in  a Hos- 
pital until  his  recovery,  when  he  was  again  sent  back  to  Gamp, 

This  severe  treatment  had  now  been  continued  for  four  or  five 
weeks,  when  a I’riend  who  was  searching  for  them  obtained  first 

the  suspension  of  this  cruelty,  and  soon  after,  by  application 

16 

to  Richmond,  their  release.” 

E.  P,  H.  was  another  who  became  convinced  of  Friends' 

17 

principles  of  peace  and  ^‘oined  the  society.  He  was  ordered 
to  Salisbury  to  guard  the  government  stores,  but  he  absolutely 
refused  to  perform  any  sort  of  military  service.  A gun  was  fas- 
tened to  his  back  and  he  was  tied  to  a guard  post.  In  writing 
to  a friend  he  said  that  it  was  the  first  punishment  he  had  had 
the  blessed  privilege  of  enduring  for  Christ’s  sake.  Often 
crowds  gathered  about  him  to  see  that  which  to  them  marked  him 
as  a coward  to  be  despised.  Instead  of  accepting  such  as  the  case 
he  bravely  told  of  his  convictions  and  in  this  way  he  gained  the 

16.  Boyle,  Ac*count  of  Sufferings,  17-18. 

17.  Ibid.,  14-15. 


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58 


sympathy  of  many  and  the  respect  of  all  for  his  courage. 

Solomon  ?*razier  of  Randolph,  North  Carolina  "became  a 
member  after  the  passage  of  the  exemption  act.  He  ^sas  arrested 
on  the  Tweofth  Month,  1864  and  taken  to  Salisbury.  ° Very  bru- 
tal treatment  was  given  him  there.  He  was  a large  strong  man, 

whom  they  thought  would  make  a good  soldier  to  f ight  against  the 

19 

Yankees.  The  only  question  was  how  to  force  obedience  from  him. 
When  he  refused  to  sear  a gun,  they  subjected  him  to  ^bucking" 
for  two  hours.  This  was  a brutal  method  of  treatment  in  which 
the  person  was  placed  in  a stooping  position,  the  wrists  firmly 
tied  and  brought  in  front  of  the  knees,  with  a pole  tlirust  be- 
tween the  elbows  and  the  knees,  thus  keeping  the  body  in  a pain- 
ful and  totally  helpless  position.  He  was  next  forced  to  carry 
a pole  around  for  two  or  three  hours,  and  then  tied  u.p  during  the 
night.  That  same  afternoon  his  persecutors  tied  a gun  to  his 
right  arm  and  a piece  of  timber  to  his  neck.  When  he  was  no 
longer  able  to  endure  the  weight  of  it,  he  sat  down  in  an  at- 
tempt to  support  the  end  of  it  upon  the  ground.  He  was  immedi- 
ately pierced  with  a bayonet  for  his  action.  He  was  then  bucked 
down,  and  gagged  with  a bayonet  and  left  for  the  day. 

The  Captain, greatly  enraged  over  the  patience  of  our 
Hriend,  swore  at  him  violently  and  told  him  that  he  must  now  take 
a gun  or  die.  While  the  Captain  was  trying  to  tie  the  gun  upon 
his  arm,  Frazier  said  to  him:  "If  it  is  thy  duty  to  inflict  this 

punishment  upon  me  do  it  cheerfully;  don't  get  angry  about  it.” 

18.  Boyle,  Account  of  Sufferings,  IFI 

19.  R.  M.  Jones,  Later  Periods  of  Quakerism.  744. 


69 


The  Oaptain,  turning  to  his  men,  told  them:  ”If  any  of  you  can 

make  him  fight,  do  it;  I cannot.”  Two  young  men  then  came  up 

with  their  guns  and  threatened  to  shoot  him.  He  replied  to  them 

that  it  was  the  Sabbath  and  as  good  a day  to  die  as  any.  They 

took  him  to  their  Colonel  who  looked  upon  him  with  some  degree  of 

mercy  at  least.  The  Colonel  urged  him  to  consult  a lawyer  and, 

if  possible  to  secure  exemption,  or  otherwise,  he  must  perform 

military  service  or  die.  I'wo  days  later  a gun  was  tied  to  his 

neck  by  which  he  was  dragged  around  nearly  the  entire  day.  The 

next  day  the  method  of  bucking  was  again  used.  About  this  time 

a Friend  visited  the  camp  and  after  vigorous  protests  from  him, 

brutal  treatment  was  no  longer  used  on  him,  although  he  was  kept 

20 

there  as  a prisoner  until  the  surrender  of  Salisbury. 

Thomas  Kennedy,  a Friend  minister  of  near  Goldsboro, 

was  arrested  because  of  supposed  Union  sentiments  and  taken  to 

21 

Salisbury  Prison.  He  was  later  sent  as  a prisoner  of  war  to 
Richmond  where  he  was  taken  ill.  He  was  then  taken  to  Washington 
as  an  exchange  prisoner.  As  there  was  no  one  to  care  for  him, 
he  was  found  in  a weak  and  delirious  condition  wandering  the 
streets.  President  Lincoln  heard  of  the  case,  and  said  that  if 
he  was  a Friend,  he  was  no  prisoner  of  war.  He  had  him  cared  for 
and  informed  Philadelphia  Friends  of  his  condition.  Marshal 
Elliott  who  knew  him  was  sent  by  the  Friends  there  to  bring  him 

bac^  to  that  city  where  he  was  given  every  sort  of  medical 

20.  Boyle,  Account  of  Sufferings.  12-13;  and  H.  M.  Jones,  Later 
Periods  of  Quakerism  II,  744-745;  similar  account  also 
Cartland,  Southern  Heroes,  202-4. 

21.  Cartland,  Southern  Heroes,  387-390. 


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60 


attention  and  nursing.  His  son  in  Illinois  was  also  sent  for. 

22 

VlHien  he  recovered,  Kennedy  went  to  Friends  in  Indiana. 

Many  other  Friends  who  were  conscientiously  opposed 

to  h earing  arms  were  thrown  into  the  southern  prisons  which  had 

25 

been  prepared  for  Union  soldiers.  Prominent  among  these  was 
Tilghraan  R.  Vestal  of  Tennessee  who  suffered  much  cruel  treat- 
ment during  his  six  weeks  stay  at  Salisbury.  At  the  time  he 
entered  there  his  body  had  received  eighteen  cruel  bayonet 
wounds  to  which  the  inhuman  keeper  of  the  prison  added  a severe 

24 

beating  over  the  head.  More  Friends  were  imprisoned  at  the 

25 

Salisbury,  Forth  Carolina  prison  than  a t any  of  the  other  prisons. 
Although  those  who  were  confined  in  Southern  prisons  suffered 
much  actual  cruelty  and  mental  anguish,  yet  not  one  met  a vio- 
lent death,  which,  as  the  Quakers  truly  believed,  was  to  be  traced 

to  the  overruling  Providence  of  Him  by  whom  "Even  the  very  hairs 

2 6 

of  our  head  are  all  numbered." 

Jesse  Milton  Blair  who  lived  near  the  home  of  Solomon 
Frazier  was  arrestedabout  Christmas  time,  1864,  and  taken  to 
Richmond,  Virginia  and  from  there  to  an  army  near  Petersburg.  He 
was  put  in  an  old  tobacco  factory  with  a set  of  men  who  were 
drinking  and  carousing.  His  food  consisted  of  coarse  cornbread 
and  molasses,  made  from  sorghum  grown  in  the  neighborhood.  ./hen 
he  refused  to  take  a gun,  the  officer  ordered  his  man  to  strike 

Cartland.  Southern  Heroes.  594. 

25.  Ibid.,  154. 

24.  Ibid. , 517-518;  also  account  in  R.  M.  J^nes,  Later  Periods 
of  Quakerism  II,  746-747. 

25.  Cartland,  Southern  Heroes.  165. 

26.  Boyle,  Account  of  Sufferings.  25. 


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61 


him  with,  the  gun  tut  as  he  was  afraid  he  might  kill  him,  he  struck 
him  down  with  his  fist  instead.  A gun,  was  next  strapped  to  his 

wrists  and  he  was  ordered  to  march.  Upon  his  refusal  to  do  so 

he  was  cruelly  pierced  with  a tayonet.  They  then  took  the 
straps  with  which  the  gun  had  been  tied  to  his  arms  and  hung  him 
up  by  the  thumbs.  It  was  a cold  day  in  December  and  snowing  and 
sleeting,  yet  for  two  hours  they  allowed  him  to  suffer  in  that 
way.  Finally,  a stone  was  placed  iinder  his  feet  and  he  was  al- 
lowed to  stand  upon  it  long  enough  to  answer  whether  or  not  he 
would  consent  to  obey.  As  Jesse  was  still  unwilling  to  take  a 
gun  and  drill,  the  officer  resorted  to  further  means  of  force. 

Our  Friend  was  next  made  to  reach  a round  a tree  and 
his  hands  were  fastened  together.  A hundred  lashes  with  a hun- 
dred good-sized  hickory  switches  were  then  administered  across 
his  bare  back  until  the  blood  flowed  freely  down  biis  body.  3ut 
still  Jesse  refused  to  take  the  gun  offered  him.  The  enraged 
officer  said:  "I  am  just  going  to  hang  you  and  be  done  with  it, 

and  then  they  will  not  send  any  more  of  the  d d Quakers  here 

unless  they  mean  to  fight.”  He  was  then  hung  by  the  neck  un- 
til he  was  too  weak  to  answer  their  questions.  When  he  was  let 
down  and  the  strap  unfastened,  he  fell  helpless  to  the  ground. 

He  soon  became  very  ill  and  was  taken  to  a hospital  in  Hichmond 
where  he  lay  for  three  long  months.  3y  that  time  the  Confederacy 
was  weakening  and  their  army  moving  southward.  Jesse,  though  weak 
and  feeble,  walked  with  it  toward  his  home.  A few  days  later  Lee 


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62 
2 7 

surrendered  to  Grant,  so  Jesse  continued  his  way  homeward. 

’iVilliam  Overman  of  Wayne  County,  North  Carolina  was 

made  to  w alk  around  the  camp  followed  hy  a soldier  with  a gun 

and  a bayonet.  The  soldier  was  frequently  relieved  but  vVilliam 

was  required  to  tramp,  tramp,  tramp.  If  he  stopped  a moment 

for  rest,  the  bayonet  was  thrust  into  him.  Several  times  he 

was  cruelly  wounded  in  this  way.  Although  it  was  cold  winter 

weather,  he  was  not  allowed  to  go  to  the  fire  to  w arm  himself, 

28 

nor  was  he  allowed  any  other  food  but  bread  and  water. 

It  did  not  always  so  happen  that  the  burden  fell  upon 
^ust  one  member  of  a family.  Such  was  the  lot  of  the  three  Hock- 
ett  brothers.  In  the  spring  of  1862  Hinelius  and  Jesse  Hockett, 
brothers  of  William  Hockett  were  drafted,  arrested,  and  taken 
to  Raleigh.  They  were  soon  sent  to  Weldon  where  they  were  re- 
quired to  drill,  and  were  threatened  with  death  if  they  disobeyed. 
They  were  only  kept  under  close  custody  in  the  guard-house,  and 
the  next  month  were  discharged  and  sent  home.  A year  later  they 
were  again  included  in  the  conscription.  They  were  assigned  to 
an  artillery  company  at  Kingston.  Here  they  were  confined  to  an 
upper  room  without  food  or  drink.  Their  suffering  from  thirst  was 
severe.  On  the  third  night  the  two  brothers  were  awakened  by 
the  sound  of  rain.  A little  cup  had  been  left  in  their  room.  It 
would  have  been  easy  for  them  to  h=  ve  relieved  their  thirst  but 
upon  more  sober  thought  they  refrained  from  doing  so. 

27.  Cartland,  Southern  lieroes.  204-9. 

28.  Ibid.,  373. 


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63 

The  next  morning  some  officers  came  in  to  see  and 
question  them.  They  claimed  it  to  ti  e impossible  for  them  to 
retain  so  much  strength  without  any  food  or  drink  so  they  accused 
them  of  having  obtained  it.  '«Chen  the  brothers  told  how  they  had 
refrained  from  taking  any  of  the  rainwater  which  had  fallen  the 
night  before,  the  hearts  of  the  officers  were  even  touched.  Soon 
after  the  four  days  and  a half  of  abstinence,  a little  water 
was  allowed,  and  about  the  end  of  five  days  their  rations  were 
furnished  again. 

Jesse  was  then  asked  to  clean  streets  as  a part  of  his 
military  duty.  This  sort  of  work  did  not  appease  his  conscience 
in  the  least.  '.Yhen  he  refused  to  help  a log  of  wood  was  tied  on 
his  shoulders  and  he  was  marched  around  till  exhaustion  overcame 
him.  After  that  he  was  sent  to  a guard-house,  then  placed  in 
a dungeon  for  a day,  and  after  that  in  a prison  cell.  As  if  that 
was  not  enough,  a forked  pole  was  thrust  around  his  neck  and  a 
heavy  block  of  wood  fastened  upon  the  prongs.  , His  angry  cap- 
tain soon  pulled  it  off  again,  but  another  log  was  tied  upon  his 
shoulder  and  he  was  again  marched  about  until  exhausted  after 
which  he  was  sent  to  jail. 

Himelius  Hockett  meantime  was  undergoing  severe  treat- 
ment but  of  another  kind.  He  was  hung  up  by  the  thumbs  on  three 
different  occasions  for  nearly  two  hours  each  time.  The  bayonet 
was  also  used  on  him.  'J-'he  men  charged  with  his  persecution  told 
him  that  they  had  orders  to  pierce  him  four  inches  deep.  However, 
they  did  not  carry  this  threat  to  quite  such  an  extreme.  On  one 


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* 


64 


occasion,  one  of  these  men  came  back  to  ask  his  forgiveness, 

William  Hockett,  the  third  brother,  was  arrested  on 
the  8th  of  Sixth  Month,  1863.  He  explained  his  scruples  against 
bearing  arms,  but  the  Colonel  ordered  him  to  be  shot.  His  only 
choice  then  was  to  say  whether  he  should  meet  his  death  that 
night  or  the  next  morning.  William  said  that  if  it  was  his 
Heavenly  Father's  will  that  he  should  give  up  his  life,  they 
might  shoot  him,  but  if  it  was  not  His  will,  none  of  them  could 
take  his  life,  though  they  might  give  the  order  to  do  so.  The 
officers  were  naturally  confused  at  such  remarks,  so  he  was  sent 
to  the  wagon  road  for  the  night.  The  next  morning  he  was  ordered 
to  go  out  with  a foraging  party.  He  objected  to  such  work  not 
only  because  it  was  military  work,  but  also  because  it  was  taking 
the  property  of  others.  This  refusal  exasperated  the  Colonel 
who  promptly  had  Hockett  laid  on  the  ground  while  a gun  was  tied 
to  his  back.  \?hen  he  refused  to  rise  with  it  on,  the  men  were 
ordered  to  bayonet  him,  but  they  only  pierced  his  clothes, 

A firing  squad  was  then  drawn  up  to  execute  him,  but 
just  before  the  order  was  given  our  Friend  raised  his  arms  and 
said:  "Father,  forgive  them  f or  they  know  not  what  they  do." 

The  men  could  not  bear  to  shoot  such  a man.  The  whole  proceedings 
enraged  the  officer  who  then  struck  at  Hockett 's  head  but  missed 
his  aim.  He  then  spurred  his  horse  several  tiaes  to  ride  over 
him,  but  each  time  the  horse  sprang  aside  and  left  his  intended 
victim  unharmed.  As  the  officer  left  he  said  he  was  not  yet 


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65 


through  with  him  but  he  himself  was  killed  that  same  day  or  the 
next  day  at  Gettysburg.  W.  H.  was  ill  at  the  time  of  the  battle 
but  in  the  retreat  he  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Union  Cavalry 
and  sent  to  Fort  Delaware  as  a rebel  prisoner.  His  case  was 
made  known  at  Washington  and  the  War  Office  ordered  his  release 
if  he  would  take  an  affirmation  of  allegiance  to  the  United 
States.  This  he  could  not  conscientious!’^  do  so  he  was  told 
that  he  might  have  his  choice  between  affirmation  or  imprison- 
ment until  the  close  of  the  war.  Upon  a fuller  explanation  of 
his  principles,  a change  was  made  in  the  affirmation  and  he  was 

released.  He  then  went  west  to  await  the  close  of  the  war  when 

29 

he  might  return  to  his  family  in  the  southland, 

John  S.  Moore,  an  elderly  Friend  of  Dudley,  North 
Carolina^ has  written  the  following  to  the  writer  concerning  the 
conscientious  objectors: 

*’I  was  a boy  about  sixteen  years  old  when  the  war 
ended  but  remember  some  things  the  conscientious  objectors  had 
to  endure. 

"One  of  my  cousins  was  imprisoned  and  required  to 
walk  a short  distance  back  and  forth  from  sunrise  to  sunset  for 
three  months  at  the  point  of  a bayonet  and  W/as  not  allowed  to  go 
to  the  fire  to  warm  but  once  during  the  winter;  but  he  stood 
firm  and  lived  to  be  eighty  years  old.  Another  young  man,  a 
friend  of  mine,  was  kept  tied  in  a sitting  position  for  quite 
a while  from  early  morning  till  evening  and  still  refused  to  take 

a gun;  he  was  ordered  to  be  shot  and  was  tied  to  a stake.  He 

^9.  Boyle.  Account  of  Sufferings,  19-22;  and  Gartland.  Southern 
Heroes,  232-85;  R.  M.  Jones,  Later  Periods  of  Quakerism  II, 
748-751. 


-T^  :v’^  I^T'  • '^V"  ',.^,1 

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66 


said  they  finally  ordered  him  to  he  put  back  in  prison  and  told 
him  to  make  up  his  mind  to  take  a gun  by  next  day,  if  he  did 
not,  he  would  be  shot.  He  said  he  told  them  his  mind  was  made 
up  so  they  might  as  well  shoot  him.  Then  he  was  put  back  in 
prison  and  never  heard  anything  more  from  it.  On  one  occasion 
they  took  him  out  between  the  breastworks  of  the  contending  ar- 
mies where  they  were  firing  at  each  other;  and  they  would  look 
to  3ee  if  he  would  flinch  when  a gun  would  fire,  but  he  stood  firm 
and  is  still  living.  I remember  visiting  with  my  father  Jesse 
and  Himelius  Hockett  and  W.  H.  Overman  while  they  were  in  prison 
at  one  ti  le  and  was  very  much  impressed  they  seemed  so  cheerful. 

"How  these  are  the  facts  as  I remember  them.  Many 
others  were  taken  to  camps  and  kept  for  some  time  but  were  not 
so  severely  tried.  At  the  close  of  the  war  it  was  said  that 
not  one  Quaker  who  stood  firm  to  his  principles  was  killed.'’ 

Many  other  cases  of  individual  suffering  might  be 

related.  Some  of  them  w eve  not  so  severe, others  were  equally 

cruel.  Besides  personally  suffering,  the  conscientious  objectors 

suffered  great  pecuniary  losses.  Those  living  in  the  Shenandoah 

Valley  especially  suffered  in  this  respect.  After  the  supposed 

murder  of  Civil  Iihgineer  Meigs  General  Sheridan  ordered  his 

troops  to  burn  everything  within  a ten  mile  radius.  Again  \’vhen 

Sherman  retreated  in  1864  houses,  mills,  and  barns  were  burned 

and  provisions  of  all  sorts  were  carried  away.  Many  Mennonites 

30 

were  included  within  this  area. 

The  Friends  were  frequently  marked  out  for  special 

plunder.  In  a few  small  meetings  of  Tennessee  included  within 
30.  '.Vick,  Amish  Mennonites.  30-31. 


rr  - A •••'  - v.-^s^  "i 


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i>.. 

•^‘'-  /ni- 


’ R*'  -'  AfiA?""  "*’  ■ ''  ' ’" ' ' ’ ' •■"  ' ' ' 'i'  * ''Ia  w 

r 4<fkc  ‘ T c.|P||ie  ■ iiri;^i' - li ? .:||^j^yfi 

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67 


the  North  Carolina  Meeting,  the  loss  in  gold  was  $35,000.  In  a 
Quarterly  Meeting  of  about  forty  families  in  the  vicinity  of 
Gold-sboro,  the  loss  was  estimated  at  $98,220  from  the  quarter- 
ing of  troops  at  various  times  during  the  four  years  of  the  war 
and  from  Sherman's  ravages  on  his  march  in  1865.  Homes  were 

almost  stripped  of  food,  furniture,  a nc  clothing.  Sven  the  stock 

31 

was  not  spared  but  was  generously  carried  off.  At  Friendsville, 
Tennessee,  the  soldiers  went  so  far  as  to  enter  a Friends*  Meet- 
ing House,  destroyed  the  Library,  oroke  up  the  seats  and  floor 
and  made  the  place  almost  unsuitable  for  use.  Much  money  and 

property  were  also  taken  there  and  the  women  of  the  neighborhood 

32 

were  compelled  to  cook  for  the  troops. 

Friends  within  the  Hopewell  Quarter  of  Northern  Vir- 
ginia were  perhaps  the  greatest  sufferers  because  they  were 
within  the  area  contended  for  by  both  armies.  Sven  the  Meeting- 
houses were  occupied  in  turns  by  the  two  armies.  Some  were  used 
as  hospitals  during  most  of  the  war.  During  Sheridan's  raid,  the 
Friends  in  Goose  Greek  Monthly  Meeting  lost  about  $80,000  and 
those  of  Fairfax  Monthly  Meeting  about  $23,000  worth  of  property 
which  had  been  burned  and  of  live  stock  taken.  Later,  however, 

the  value  of  this  latter  loss  was  refunded  by  the  Federal  Gov- 
33 

ernment , 

After  the  war  some  financial  claims  were  filed  against 
the  government  and  settled.  Such  was  the  case  of  Lazarus  Pear- 
son. Sight  years  after  Sherman's  army  left  Goldsboro,  the 

estate  of  Pearson  was  paid  $1600  in  the  settlement 

31.  Hoyle.  Account  of  Sufferings.  25~. 

32.  Gartland,  Sop:them  Zeroes,  315. 

33.  '^eeks.  3out:hern  wuakera 


68 


of  a claim  for  |3, 000  and  interest  for  the  provisions — cattle, 

34 

horses,  and  other  property  taken  from  him  by  Union  troops. 

Although  the  conscientious  objector  of  the  south  did 

suffer  such  dire  trials  of  'ohysical  suffering  and  their  mental 

anguish  was  further  burdened  by  heavy  pecuniary  losses,  yet  the 

Friends  of  the  south  remained  true  to  their  ideals  and  by  the 

end  of  the  war  they  were  able  to  say  that  Isaac  Harvey  alone 

was  the  only  instance  of  a southern  Friend  who  surrendered  his 

35 

principles  to  take  up  carnal  weapons. 


S4.  Qartland.  Southern  Heroes.  408-9 . 
35.  Ibid. . 223. 


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69 


G01T0LU3I0N 

Y/hatever  may  iDe  our  personal  convictions  of  the 
righteousness  of  war,  we  cannot  but  admire  the  courage  of  those 
conscientious  objectors  of  the  Civil  V/ar  who  suffered  great 
trials,  mentally  and  physically,  for  consicence’s  sake  and  the 
recognition  of  their  principles.  The  peace  sects  of  the  Civil 
War  period  played  no  small  part  in  the  education  of  public  sen- 
tl'aent  and  the  framing  of  laws  which  made  the  United  States  one 
of  the  foremost  nations  of  the  world  in  recognizing  liberty 
of  conscience,  the  sacredness  of  human  life,  and  the  equal 
rights  of  all  people.  The  experiences  of  the  war,  terrible  as 
they  were,  seemed,  too,  to  prove  a blessing  to  the  Quakers  and 
other  conscientious  objectors  in  s trengthening  their  loyalty  to 
their  ancient  testinonies  for  peace. 

’’The  Quaker  of  the  olden  time  I — 

How  calm  and  firm  and  true. 

Unspotted  by  its  wrong  and  crime, 

He  walked  the  dark  earth  through. 

The  lust  of  power,  the  love  of  gain. 

The  thousand  liires  of  sin 
Around  him,  had  no  power  to  stain 


Th e pur i ty  w i thin 


70 


APPENDIX 

Since  the  completion  of  this  thesis  material  has  "been 
received  concerning  the  Brethren  or  German  Baptists  of  Virginia 
during  the  Civil  War  period.  D,  H.  Zigler’s  History  of  the 
Brethren  in  Virginia  and  Sanger  and  Hay's  The  Olive  Branch  con- 
tain much  of  interest  regarding  the  experiences  of  this  sect  which 
was  located  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia  in  Botetourt,  Roanoke,  Rock- 
ingham, and  adjacent  counties. 

Like  the  --Quakers  and  other  non-combatant  sects  the 
Brethren  believed  that  the  bearing  of  carnal  weapons  was  contrary 
to  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  Apparently,  however,  they  did  not  en- 
dure the  cruel  treatment  to  which  the  Friends  were  subjected. 

This  very  probably  was  due  to  their  v'9i llingness  to  pay  an  exemp- 
tion fee  as  an  equivalent  for  military  service.  The  only  cases 
of  importance  reported  in  these  works  concern  parties  of  Breth- 
ren refugees  to  the  west  in  1862.  Two  of  these  parties  were  cap- 
tured, brought  back^  and  imprisoned  at  Harrisonburg  and  Richmond 
for  a short  time.  While  they  were  in  prison  the  Exemption  Bill 
of  March  1862  allowing  them  the  payment  of  an  exemption  fee  of 
$500  and  two  per  cent  on  the  assessed  value  of  their  property 
was  passed  by  the  Virginia  Legislature^  and  they  were  soon  released. 


71 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Published  Sources: 

^)An  Account  of  the  Sufferings  of  the  Pr lends  of  North  Carolina 
Yearly  Meeting  in  Support  of  Their  Testimony  against  War, 
1861-65.  Baltimore:  Steam  Press  of  '.7.  II,  Boyle,  1868. 

/Congressional  Globe.  37  Cong.,  3 Sess.,  Part  II,  Vol.  33; 

38  Cong.,  1 Sess.,  Parts  1-4.  2ity  of  Washington:  Congression- 
al Globe  Office,  1864. 

Executive  Loc^Jiments,  House  of  Representatives,  38  Cong., 

2 Sess.  v7ashington:  Government  Printing  Office,  1865. 

Doc,  Nos.  53,  97. 

Extracts  from  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  Women  Eriends  Held  in 
Philadelphia  1862.  Philadelphia:  T.  Elli^ood  Zell,  1862. 

1 

Jones,  J.  3.  Rebel  Y/ar  Clerk's  Diary,  Philadelphia:  J.  B. 

Lippincott  & Co.,  1866. 

Journal  of  Confederate  Congress,  Vol  II  in  Senate  Documents, 
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Office,  1904, 

^McDonald,  Select  Statutes  of  United  States  History.  New  York; 
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Mode,  Peter  G.  Source  Book  and  Bibliogiaiiiical Guide  for 
American  Church  History,  Menasha,  Wis,:  Geo.  Santa  Publish- 

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Moore,  Prank.  Record  of  the  Rebellion.  New  York:  Edw.  :^ver- 

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/Pringle,  C,  G.  Record  of  a Quaker  Conscience.  New  York: 
i/Iacraillan  Co.,  1918, 

Report  of  Secretary  of  ’War  and  Postmaster  General,  38  Cong., 

1 Sess.,  V^  Washington:  Government  Printing  Office,  1865. 

Richardson,  Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents  1797-1897. 
Washington:  Government  Printing  Office,  1897.  10  vols. 


■ • ' ' r^A.  . 'If V. 

■■■•Ij 


*'rt  i.’  «3  •,',  *•  ■ ‘ 

, •■  Vv=,.v  ■■ 

< ■ ‘ V ' ‘^  '■' 

•■(fi'  ,•  •,!  , ■ 


.*  t 


72 


v'^Statutes  at  Large  of  the  Provisional  Oovernment  of  the  Confed- 
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Congress,  1864. 

United  States  Statutes  at  Large.  Washington,  1861-63, 

United  States  Statutes  at  Large.  Washington,  1863-65. 

United  States  Versus  Pringle.  Atlantic  Monthly,  111:  145-162 

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